The Economist Group Announces £60m Operating Profit

The Economist Group today announced a £60m operating profit for the full year ending March 31st 2015, up £1m from the previous year. Total circulation of The Economist remained robust at 1.6m, with paid subscriptions growing and gross profit from circulation increasing by 13%.

Revenue from marketing services grew, with a 37% increase for thought-leadership products and a 39% sales growth for TVC, the Group's digital media agency. Print advertising declined by 18% in the year.

The year also marked the launch of two new editorial products: Espresso, the newspaper's first daily product available as an app and e-mail service, has been downloaded more than 800,000 times; and the Global Business Review, a bilingual app, became The Economist's first foreign language publication. Economist Films was also launched and its first two pilots are now available to view online.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's profit also grew, with its healthcare division and public policy practice performing strongly.

Chris Stibbs, Group chief executive, said:
"In a world and industry where the pace of change gets ever quicker, we have learnt to remain true to our heritage and respond just a quickly. Our headline profit only tells part of the story; behind the numbers you will find innovation and risk-taking which will enable the Group to prosper in years to come."

For more information, contact

Mathew Hanratty

Corporate communications manager

+44 (0)20 7576 8546, MathewHanratty@economist.com

Notes to editors

The Economist Group is built on high-quality, independent analysis which runs through all of its businesses. It includes The Economist newspaper, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and CQ Roll Call.