The Economist reports worldwide revenue jumped 9% in fiscal year ended March

The Economist, the worldwide media brand that often sets the pace for other magazine companies to follow today reported that its overall revenue was up 9% (to about $563 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31. North America accounted for $259 million. Its profit was up 10% (about $102 million). The results were reported by Folio:

• its worldwide circulation grew by 4% (to reach 1.5 million) and 2.5% in North America (833,667)
• advertising growth was up 14% for print (to $172 million) and 23% for digital (to $32 million)
• ad pages in the U.S. edition were u p 4.2% in the first quarter of 2011

"We strengthened the pay barrier in October and this contributed positively to our web- based subscription revenues," said Nigel Ludlow, managing director, Economist Online, UK. "Digital subscribers gain access to our online service as well as the editions we publish for the iPad and iPhone. The average weekly volume of digital customers who took out their subscription through The Economist online rose by 50 percent on the previous year." [emphasis added]