Telegraph hits a record 740,000 subscribers as profits surge
Telegraph Media Group continues transformation to a subscription-led digital business
TELEGRAPH Media Group has reached a record 740,000 paying subscribers and enjoyed a 25pc jump in pre-exceptional operating profits, the company said today.
Digital subscription growth is continuing to perform strongly, driven by large investments in journalism and technology and strong interest in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, British politics, the cost of living crisis, financial news and the Royal family, according to a trading update from the company that publishes The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk.
The new Telegraph app, released last year, 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.
Total subscriptions increased by 158,000 (up 28pc) from 562,000 in December 2020 to 720,000 in December 2021, as verified by PWC. Progress has continued in 2022, with more than 740,000 subscriptions reached in March 2022.
The company is further bolstering its editorial budget and increasing its number of journalists with the aim of reaching 1m subscriptions by 2023. In 2021, 71 net new roles were created in editorial, an increase of 29 on the net growth of the previous year.
In the year ended December 2021 turnover was £245m, an increase of £9.8m, or 4pc, versus 2020, the company said in its annual results.
The increase was largely due to the growth in digital subscription revenues, which increased by £12.6m, or 40pc, to £44.1m in 2021.
The company expects total subscription revenues to account for more than 50pc of total revenues in 2022, up from 46pc in 2021. Blended average revenue per subscription (ARPS) for December 2021 was £175.
Operating profit pre-exceptional items increased by £6.6m (up 25pc) to £33.3m in 2021, driven by digital subscriptions, continued cost management and transformation, the company said. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) preexceptional items increased by 8pc to £40.4m in 2021. Profit before tax jumped 34pc to £29.6m – a year-on-year increase of £7.5m and ahead of expectations.
In May 2021 print advertising revenue generation was outsourced to DMG Media, delivering a positive trading performance and a shift to a more variable cost model, the company said.
Nick Hugh, the chief executive of Telegraph Media Group, 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.
“Increased digital subscription revenues have been a key driver of our 25pc 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.”