Financial Times reports profit growth from digital revenues

Pre-tax profits at the Financial Times grew by three-quarters in 2018 as digital subscription revenues continued to rise, reports the PressGazette. 

The company made $9.9 million (£8.15m) in profit before tax last year, up from $5.67 million (£4.65m) in 2017, according to full-year accounts filed with Companies House in the UK.

Revenues increased by more than $2.4 million (£2m) to $395 million (£323.6m) while operating profits grew from $4.9 million (£4m) to $8.9 million (£7.3m).

The accounts filed in the UK do not show consolidated earnings for the FT’s global business, however.

In the 2018 FT Ltd accounts, the company said its total circulation across print and online had grown eight per cent year-on-year from 910,000 in 2017 to 985,000 in 2018. It has since reached 1m paying readers.

The company also claimed reader engagement, a metric including frequency and length of visits to the FT website, had climbed by 15 per cent.

Digital subscriptions grew by 11 per cent to 796,000 and digital paid readership now represents more than three-quarters of the FT’s total circulation, the FT Ltd accounts said.

Total digital content revenues were up 11 per cent year-on-year. Revenues from subscription and newsstand sales make up 55 per cent of total FT Ltd revenues.