Overall pre-tax profits fell from £4.1m to £1.2m. Revenue fell from £78.3m in the first half of 2008 to £76.6m in 2009, a 2% year-on-year fall or 11% when the effects of currency exchange are removed.
In the UK revenue for the half-year fell by 6% to £52.3m. While circulation revenue fell by 6%, within this subscription revenue was up 9%, domestic newsstand revenue declined 14% and export revenue grew 3%.
Total revenue in the US fell by 16% while circulation revenue fell 18%. Within circulation revenue, subscriptions fell by 11% and newsstand revenue fell by 21%.
Future's magazine titles include Official Nintendo Magazine, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, Xbox World 360, Classic Rock, Total Guitar, Digital Camera and Hi Fi Choice, among others.
Stevie Spring, chief executive of Future, said: "Our focus in the first half has been on navigating through some exceptionally tough market conditions, especially in the US.
"Stripping out our prudent receivables provision and the exceptional US newsstand disruption, Ebita for the half is broadly flat -- a good performance in a turbulent media sector."
Future's US business experienced an unexpected disruption to distribution of up to 40% of its news stand magazines, following a dispute among wholesalers and distributors in the North American magazine market.
Analyst Numis said that Future had produced a "creditable underlying first half performance, and but for a few one-offs, which it has chosen to take as normal costs, would have been ahead of Numis's estimate".
"Ebita would have been held at £7m but for the -£1.0m impact of US newsstand disruption and a -£1.4m swing in its receivables provision."
Future said that it is "cautious" on current trading but that it is on track to meet full year expectations.
.jpg)
.jpg)