Results

The Group’s half-year revenue of £170m was 4% higher than the prior year at actual exchange rates, and 7% higher at constant currency

Operating profit of £20.2m was 23% above the prior year

Net cash before lease liabilities was £7.4m at the end of the first half, an improvement of £17.0m compared to net debt before lease liabilities of £9.6m in the prior half-year

Performance in the half-year was largely driven by growth in both revenue and volumes for The Economist and its enterprise subscriptions business. The Economist subscriber volumes were 1.255m, a 6% increase year on year

Disruption and market volatility have dampened other parts of Group performance: B2B saw modest revenue growth overall, however sales in a number of areas have slowed, offsetting the strong performance of digital advertising

Economist Intelligence performance remained largely flat year-on-year

The Group’s revenue of £368.5m was up 2% compared with the prior year at actual exchange rates and was up 4% at constant currency

Operating profit was £48.1m, 2% higher than the prior year and 11% higher at constant currency. Operating expenses increased due to ongoing investments in technology and editorial

Subscriber numbers at The Economist were 1,250,000, a 3% increase over last year

Digital subscriptions for The Economist grew by 8%, accounting for 85% of new starts for the year

Economist Impact revenues were in line with last year at constant currency and delivered strong performance in the second half after challenging market conditions in the first half of the year

Economist Impact's 129 in-person, virtual and hybrid events attracted 22,000 attendees and 600 client sponsorships, delivering further margin growth

Economist Intelligence’s revenue increased by 5% at constant currency due to volume and price improvements in the EIU subscription base

Economist Education further expanded its executive-education course offerings and saw enrollment increase to over 2,000 students from more than 100 countries

The Group’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions have decreased 34% since base year 2020