British online news site The Independent has seen profits soar on the back of its success in TV and US expansion, lining it up for double-digit revenue growth in 2024.
In its financial year 2023, operating profit shot up by 82 per cent to £3.5m, from £1.9m the previous year, despite flat annual revenue at £46.1m.
However, revenue climbed to £56m over a 15-month reporting period, after the publisher shifted its fiscal year to align with the advertising industry.
A major driver of growth was The Independent’s burgeoning TV division, which grew its revenue 30 per cent year on year, thanks to popular programmes like The Body in the Woods and Bel Trew’s acclaimed Ukraine war crimes documentary. By June 2023, monthly viewers had hit the 100 million mark.
The outlet’s US editorial team also bulked up by 40 per cent, growing to 46 journalists ahead of the upcoming presidential election. US site traffic rose by 20.4 per cent in 2023, well above the UK news publisher average of 6.2 per cent, according to Comscore.
The Independent’s chief executive Christian Broughton said: “The strong results we have announced today have already enabled us to double down on our strategic focus. We have hired outstanding talent to drive forward growth across the business, including in TV and ecommerce, as well as growing our newsrooms in the UK and in the US.
He added that these investments had set the company on course for double-digit revenue growth in 2024.
The Independent, which closed its print edition in 2016, has also been scaling its ecommerce arm and revenue from registered readers. It is also exploring AI-driven newsroom tools, with productivity gains predicted to be fourfold as it works with leading AI providers on products set to launch next year.
This success comes as many media outlets struggle with declining advertising revenues. Chairman John Paton said the strategy to diversify beyond ad revenue has “continued to flourish, helping us to defy an extremely challenging trading environment.”
He added: “Our deal with Buzzfeed emphasises the scale of our ambition and industry-leading innovation as we continue to expand.”
In March, The Independent took over editorial and commercial oversight of Buzzfeed’s UK and Ireland brands, including HuffPost UK, Seasoned and Tasty, under a multi-year licensing deal.
The move has allowed The Independent to “significantly expand” its audience, now reaching half of all British consumers.
Founded in 2006, the popular online publisher known for its quizzes and ‘listicles’, floated on the Nasdaq via a blank-check merger in 2021 but was forced to shutter its news division in April last year after haemorrhaging cash.