Results

The Group’s revenue of £370.7m was up 1% at actual exchange rates and up 3% at constant currency

Operating profit was £50.4m, 5% ahead of last year at actual exchange rates and 11% ahead at constant currency

Subscription numbers at The Economist were 1.29m, a 3% increase over last year

Digital subscriptions for The Economist grew by 8%, with 84% of new subscriptions being digital-only

Economist Enterprise weathered headwinds in a year of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, with revenue at £133.0m, down 4% from last year at constant currency

Economist Enterprise achieved a 17% growth in digital media revenue

EIU achieved a 93% retention rate in subscriptions, up 2% from last year, and delivered 3% growth in annual recurring revenue base

Economist Enterprise Events welcomed 26,500+ attendees to 147 events, working with 700+ sponsors

Economist Education delivered 32 course presentations to 1600 students across 89 countries

The Group’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions have decreased 36% since base year 2020

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