Future shares boosted after short-seller launches attack
Publishing group Future saw its shares rise seven per cent this morning, just days after the firm came under attack from a short-seller over the price of its stock.
In a trading update, the media group, which publishes specialist trade magazines, said it had continued to grow audience numbers and had seen strong revenue growth.
It added that it expected full year results to be ahead of market expectations, despite prevailing uncertainty in macro-economic conditions.
On Friday Future came under fire from research firm Shadowfall, which called the media group “a collection of generally low quality, often distinct and shrinking assets” in a 68-page report.
Announcing that it was shorting Future’s stock, the firm added that the publisher was overstating its revenue growth by 10 per cent.
It also challenged the firm’s earnings growth, which Future said was down to acquisitions. As a result of Shadowfall’s report shares in Future fell up to 18 per cent.
In recent years Future’s shares have increase nearly tenfold in price, which the firm put down to using its specialist content to drive up digital subscriptions.
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It has also pursued an active acquisitions strategy, culminating in plans to buy magazine printer TI Media, owner of Country Life and Marie Claire, for £140m.
In January the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was investigating whether the proposed acquisition could harm competition.
Future is also under scrutiny for its executive pay policy, which an influential proxy adviser has urged investors to vote against at this month’s annual general meeting (AGM).
Future’s remuneration report outlines a base salary increase of more than 27 per cent for finance director Penny Ladkin-Brand, who is set to take home £3.9m overall in 2020.
In a note to members, Glass Lewis cited concerns about the “significant increase” to base salary, and said Future had offered an “inadequate response” to last year’s backlash, when almost a third of shareholders voted against the pay report.
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne was granted a 19 per cent salary increase in 2019, but her payout has been frozen this year. She is set to take home £5.7m in 2020.
It comes months after the two executives cashed in bumper bonuses as they reaped the rewards of a period of rapid growth at the publisher, which owns titles such as Four Four Two and Tech Radar.
Boss Byng-Thorne cashed in £14.6m in November after selling roughly 1m shares, while Ladkin-Brand pocketed £7.7m.