Future, the media company behind titles such as Marie Claire and The Week, has announced it will suspend its £30 million share buyback program in order to strengthen its balance sheet. The decision comes as part of an ongoing review of capital allocation priorities and a focus on reducing debt during the next financial year.

The publisher had already repurchased approximately £24 million worth of shares before halting the buyback initiative. Despite this pause, Future confirmed it will maintain its current dividend policy. At the end of June, the company reported net debt at 1.6 times adjusted earnings, marking the highest level in five years.

Future is scheduled to release its full-year results on December 3. Market analysts anticipate revenue of £707 million and adjusted earnings of £180 million, both figures reflecting declines from the previous year’s £739 million in revenue and £223 million in adjusted earnings.

Shares in Future closed slightly higher by 0.3 percent, at 417½ pence. However, the stock has experienced a significant drop of around 40 percent since the beginning of the year.

The group has faced challenges from the rise of artificial intelligence-generated summaries, which have negatively impacted click-through rates to its websites. This trend contributed to an 8 percent revenue decline in the first half of the year across all three of Future’s divisions.

Looking ahead, the company anticipates a “mid to low single-digit organic” decline in revenue for the full year, reflecting ongoing pressures in the digital media environment.