Global: Huge losses continue for LBC, Heart and Capital owner
Global, the media giant which owns commercial radio stations such as Capital, Heart and LBC, has now lost almost £700m since it last reported a pre-tax profit.
The London-headquartered empire, which also includes Smooth, Radio X and Classic FM, fell to a pre-tax loss of £120.3m in the year to 31 March, 2024, newly-filed accounts with Companies House show.
The total comes after Global also lost £101.1m in the prior 12 months.
The latest figure means that the group has lost in the region of £680m before tax since it last made a pre-tax profit – £25.1m in the year to 31 March, 2018.
However, the new accounts also show that Global’s revenue increased from £806.1m to £858.1m over the same period.
Global generated £432.2m in audio revenue in the year, up from £426.1m, while its outdoor adverting sales jumped from £379.9m to £425.9m.
In the UK, its sales rose from £673m to £699.2m and from £88.6m to £114.8m in Europe. Its revenue in North America dipped slightly from £44.4m to £44m.
Global’s operating profit increased from £75.4m to £87.4m in the year.
Global was founded by Ashley Tabor-King in 2007.
A statement signed off by the board said: “despite the continuing challenging macroeconomic environment, the audio business continued to deliver results with strong growth across digital ad exchange and partnership deals.”
The group also said: “The outdoor business has seen continued recovery since the pandemic, delivering 12 per cent and 24 per cent growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] respectively on the prior year.”
Global added: “The directors believe that the group will continue to see growth within both the audio and outdoor division from their current offerings.
“The directors continue to explore several opportunities to grow and expand the group operations.”