Condé Nast's UK profits fall by more than a third
Pre-tax profit at the UK arm of Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue and GQ, fell 36% last year to nearly £18m. The owning family recently ruled out selling the company.
Profits at the UK arm of Condé Nast, the magazine publisher behind Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, dropped 36% last year. Pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items fell from £28m in 2024 to nearly £18m, according to newly filed accounts. The figures came shortly after the Newhouse family, which owns the group, ruled out a sale.
Revenue and costs
2024 had been an unusually strong year, as the company booked £64m from selling its London headquarters, Vogue House. Last year UK revenues fell 7%, from £75.9m to £70.6m. International revenues rose 18% to £29.7m, leaving total revenues almost flat at about £100m.
Restructuring costs more than doubled, from £1.9m to £4.3m, which the company said were mainly severance costs. Staff numbers barely moved, slipping from 466 to 461. A spokesperson said there were no large restructures in the UK, and that changes to pension scheme projections and wage inflation also affected profit. The profit shift was attributed to planned investment in customised client solutions.
Sale ruled out
Last week, Steven Newhouse, chair of the family holding company Advance, which controls Condé Nast, ruled out a sale. There had been speculation that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos could buy the business. The comment followed the abrupt departure of chief executive Roger Lynch to lead toymaker Mattel.
Lynch said earlier this year that Google's AI Summaries were "another sort of death blow" to traditional online search. Google searches accounted for only about a quarter of visits to the company's websites last year.
Seven brands, including Vogue, GQ and the New Yorker, generate 85% of global revenues. The highest-paid director, one of the company's most senior executives outside the US, took home more than £1.3m.
