In its trading statement, Telegraph Media Group announced continued growth in underlying profitability in 2021 and reported further progress towards its strategic goals.
As reported by TMG:
Some key highlights from these results include:
- Total subscriptions increased by 158k (+28%) from 562k in December 2020 to 720k in December 2021 (as verified by PWC). TMG continues to stand apart from many others in the industry in allowing our numbers, both volume and price, to be independently verified and publicly disclosed.
- Digital subscription revenues increased by £12.6m (+40%) to £44.1m in 2021 ahead of expectations, with the milestone of 500k digital subscriptions surpassed in October 2021.
- TMG’s improvement in profitability in 2021 was ahead of expectations. Our operating profit pre-exceptional items increased by £6.6m (+25%) to £33.3m in 2021 (2020: £26.7m), similarly, EBITDA pre- exceptional items increased to £40.4m (+8%) in 2021 (2020: £37.5m). 2021 Profit Before Tax was £29.6m (+34%) - a year on year increase of £7.5m (2020: £22.1m).
- There has been continued investment in our journalism, technology platforms and digital operations. There were 71 net new roles created in editorial in 2021, an increase of 29 on the previous year. A new version of the Telegraph’s App was released in Spring 2021 and it has become the most used paid-for news app in the UK, according to Ipsos data for March 2022, and the paid-for news app with the highest total minutes of use.
Nick Hugh, Chief Executive, Telegraph Media Group (TMG), said: “TMG has continued its excellent progress towards our stated strategic goal; subscription numbers have seen substantial growth since launching in 2018. In December 2021 we exceeded the significant milestone of 720,000 subscriptions. The overall subscription number remains the key metric for TMG.
“We have continued to invest in our high quality, trusted and award winning journalism including the successful launch of the new version of our app.
“As of April 2022, 240,000 subscribers use the app each day.
“Digital subscription revenues increased by £12.6m (40%) to £44.1m in 2021, ahead of expectations and this has been a key driver of our 25% growth in pre-exceptional operating profit. Our partnership with dmg media has also been profit additive.
“Material investment in journalism, technology platforms and digital operations will continue in 2022.”
You can read the full trading statement here.
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