Results

Half-year revenues for the Group were £179.3m

Revenues grew £19.7m or 13% compared with the prior year, and by 5% at constant currency

The Group’s half-year operating profit of £20.1m was, as expected, lower than last year, reflecting our planned investment in technology, editorial and digital capabilities

The Economist subscriber volumes have remained flat however retention remains strong, with churn down substantially and now at historically low levels

More and more customers are choosing digital - 52% of subscriptions were digital-only, compared with 45% last year

Economist Impact has performed strongly across both Partnerships and Events with revenues of £53.2m, an increase of 33%. The Events business delivered its flagship ‘International’ event in person

Economist Intelligence revenues increased by 15% to £25.2m driven by its core subscription business and Clearstate, our healthcare offer

Economist Education, though still small, continues to grow and launched a new website in September

Revenue for the year grew 12% to £346.3m

The Group delivered its highest profit since 2016 for its continuing business, reaching £46.4m (+11% year-on-year)

Digital services made up 55% of revenue, growing to more than 60% when including digital consumption from customers who take a print and digital bundled product. During the year, 66% of new subscribers to The Economist chose digital only offerings

Subscriber numbers at The Economist were 1,185,000, in line with last year. Notably, The Economist’s revenues grew 5% at constant currency and first-year subscriber retention grew markedly

Economist Impact accounted for the largest revenue increase among the Group’s four core businesses, and delivered revenue of over £106m for the year. The Events business hosted 222 events over the year, gathering more than 78,000 attendees in person and online

Economist Intelligence increased revenues to £45.5m driven by a 33% increase in revenues in Clearstate, and a 95% retention rate among Economist Intelligence Unit subscriptions

In its first full year of trading Economist Education launched three new online courses with a fourth planned in the coming months

The Group is on track to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 25% by 2025. The Group has reaffirmed its commitment to achieve net zero by 2045 and will be making its first disclosure in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)