Future, publisher of Xbox gaming and other consumer-focused magazines, today posted £50m of losses as its newly appointed chief executive conceded the group had splashed out too much on ambitious acquisitions in the past.
The Bath-based company said its full-year pre-tax loss was £49m compared with profits of £12.5m a year earlier, with overall business dented by lower sales and advertising revenues on magazines in the games sector.
Stevie Spring, Future's chief executive since July, described a sharp fall in underlying profits in the year to the end of September as "disappointing" but said management was working hard to rebuild shareholder confidence.
"It is clear with hindsight that during the past two years, Future over-invested in acquisitions and under-invested in organic development," she said in a statement.
"I am pleased at how the business is responding to the changes we're making, but anticipate that 2007 will be a year of transition as we evolve our business models to reflect changing consumer, advertiser and retailer behaviour," she added.
Future, which in 2004 set itself the goal of doubling in size, predicted trading conditions will remain challenging throughout 2007.
It also said it was selling Future Media Italy to management for 1.1m in cash, with the proceeds being used to slash bank debt.