E-commerce a boon for Time Out as print declines

Media and entertainment business Time Out Group traded in line with management expectations in the first six months of its financial year, it claimed on Monday, saying it expects revenue to increase 13% year-on-year to £18.7m compared to the first half of last year.

The AIM-traded firm, best known for its going-out magazine guides which were first published in London, said it delivered digital revenue growth of 25% in the six months to 30 June, whilst there was a small but expected decline in revenue from print operations of 3%.

Within its digital revenue, Time Out said advertising grew 8%, its ‘premium profiles; by 55% and e-commerce by 51% compared to the same time last year.

Its ‘Time Out Market’ product reportedly showed strong year-on-year revenue growth, improving 59% over the first half of 2016.

“Time Out has seen good progress in the key development areas of e-commerce, Premium Profiles and Time Out Market which in Lisbon continues to deliver an excellent performance demonstrating the strength of the format,” said CEO Julio Bruno.

“We are well positioned to drive further growth, transactional traffic and monetisation of our unique content as millions of people rely on Time Out to experience the very best of the world's greatest cities.”

Time Out Group said it expected to report its interim results for the six months to 30 June on 26 September.