Haymarket Group has reported a £14.8m annual profit following a second consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth.

Turnover rose 10% to £183.1m in the 12 months to June 2023, accounts filed at Companies House show.

The US generated 52% of revenues and the UK 40% – the remainder came from the rest of the world.

The media group said there was a “strong” performance across the business, including at Haymarket US and at Haymarket Business Media in the UK.

HBM’s results beat the previous year, which had been the best in over a decade.

Haymarket Group said its decision to increase the level of investment across the business had driven revenues, as it launched and acquired more than 50 new products over an 18-month period from July 2022 to December 2023.

About £40m of annual turnover came from brands that did not exist five years ago, according to Haymarket, which pointed to medical titles such as Rare Disease Advisor and Ophthalmology Advisor in the US and Performance Marketing World in the UK.

The company also invested in a new, global sustainability initiative, Haymarket Impact, during 2023 to “maximise its positive influence through its expert, remarkable content and the powerful partnerships it holds around the world”.

New product development and acquisitions

Kevin Costello, chief executive of Haymarket Group, said: “Today’s results reflect our continuing investment in the long-term sustainability of the business as we accelerate our growth plans, both through organic new product development and acquisitions.

“A prime example of this is circa £40m of revenues attributed to brands that did not exist five years ago. This is testament to our expert knowledge, creativity and innovation.

“Were it not for these significant investments and those we have made in platforms and emerging technologies, our profits would have been up, year on year.”

Rupert Heseltine, chairman of Haymarket Group, said: “It has been another strong year for Haymarket and the success ultimately comes down to our 1,300-plus employees working across our global offices.

“Being a privately held, family-owned business, we pride ourselves on our people, culture and values being right at the heart of how we do business.

“It is testament to the exceptional talent we employ at Haymarket that we are reporting a healthy profit today, and can continue to expand, explore new acquisition opportunities and accelerate the pace of growth.”

“On track” for further growth in new financial year

Haymarket Group said it expected a similar rate of revenue growth in the new financial year, which started in July 2023.

The company has made a number of new investments, including in Campaign in Canada in July and Garden Connect in the Netherlands in September.

Costello said: “The business is in great shape, despite the challenging economic environment and global uncertainties.

“We are set up for the long term, protecting the interests of not only our shareholders, but our communities and the environment, through Haymarket Impact.

“We will keep diversifying the revenues using data to power the business, inform decision-making and explore new opportunities.

“At the halfway point in our current financial year, we are on track for another successful year.

“What we will hopefully see is the investments we made in the last financial year fall through into the profits in this financial year.

“It is one of the benefits of being privately owned that we always take a long-term view.”

Haymarket owns more than 70 market-leading brands, including Campaign, What Car?, MyCME, GP and Asian Investor, and has offices in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore and India.

This article originally appeared on Campaign UK.