Guardian News and Media, which publishes the Guardian and Observer, has reported an operating profit for the first time in two decades, following a three-year restructuring plan.
The UK group swung to an operating profit of £800,000 in the year ending April 1, and highlighted “good growth” in digital advertising and voluntary reader contributions. Losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were £19m a year earlier.
The figure excludes up to £30m costs for technology, redundancies and management of the nearly £1bn Scott Trust Endowment Fund that the company relies on for funding.
Revenue rose 3 per cent to £223m, which the company said was the highest level in a decade.
“Although the significant turbulence in the global media sector shows no sign of abating any time soon, we have developed a set of core strengths which will help to ensure the Guardian’s ongoing independence and financial sustainability for the long term,” said chief executive David Pemsel.
The Guardian has been partly supported by voluntary contributions from its readers. The company said it has more than 655,000 monthly paying “supporters”, and had received an additional 300,000 one-off contributions in the past year.
By 2022, the company aims to reach 2m supporters who contribute through “regular or one-off payments or subscriptions”.
Mr Pemsel and Katharine Viner, editor of the Guardian, have set out their financial goals, saying annual cash requirements were to remain in line with the expected £25m-30m annual returns of the Scott Trust.