Shares in publishing firm Future (FUTR) have lost 42% year-to-date, putting recently appointed CEO Jon Steinberg under immediate pressure.

The dramatic share price drop to around 760p, extends losses from the highs above £39 seen in 2021, for the company behind well-known titles like Marie Claire UK, Homes & Gardens and Country Life.

After years of strong growth, Future reported an 18% fall in pre-tax profits to £66 million in the six months to 31 March compared to £81 million in the same period a year ago.

The firm blamed ‘challenging market conditions’ for the fall in profit which it expects to continue in the second half of the year.

Investors’ lack of confidence has spread to analysts at Canaccord Genuity who said ‘plenty of headwinds could negatively impact the business model’ including the launch of ChatGPT.

The broker observes the publishing firm spends ‘zero on marketing with 60-70% of traffic driven by SEO, therefore any changes to search could have a significant impact on traffic and how much Future may have to spend on marketing, which could result in lower margins’.

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