Vogue publisher bucks trend with sales rise

Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue and GQ, has bucked wider anxiety in the magazine industry with a rise in annual revenues and profits at its UK and international operations.

Turnover at Condé Nast Publications, which mainly covers the UK, jumped 5.2 per cent to £118m last year, with pre-tax profits climbing 14 per cent to £17.3m. Print circulation of some of its flagship titles has fallen recently, but Condé Nast has offset that with the introduction of digital editions and some cover price rises. It is understood that advertising across print and digital also remains strong at the glossy magazine publisher, which owns premium titles such as Glamour, Tatler and Vanity Fair.

The London-based Condé Nast International, which covers most of Europe, performed even better, with profit soaring by a quarter to £43.5m.

Revenues were up 7.7 per cent at £460m, with even Italy and Spain showing growth despite eurozone woes. CNI's chairman, Jonathan Newhouse, a cousin of Condé Nast's New York-based supremo, Si Newhouse, and president Nicholas Coleridge oversee the UK and international businesses.

The unnamed highest-paid director at Condé Nast Publications earned £790,000, up from £765,000 a year earlier.