In early 2016, Guardian Media Group, the London-based parent company for The Guardian and The Observer, announced a three-year plan to cut costs by 20 percent. Just over a year into the plan, the company’s efforts seem to be paying off. In Guardian Media Group’s July 25 report for year-end financials for the 12-months ended April 2, 2017, the company reported record digital readership, increased revenue and a one-third reduction in operating losses, moving closer to its target of breaking event in 2018-19.

Other highlights from the year-end financial report include:

• Group revenues of £214.5m (about $279.9 million USD), a 2 percent increase
• Digital revenues of £94.1m (about $122.8 million USD), a 15 percent increase, including mobile and app revenue, digital subscriptions and memberships, one-off reader contributions and foundation grant revenue
• Costs, before exceptional items, of £259.2m, £19 lower than the prior year
• EBITDA, before exceptional items, £44.7m loss (about $58.3 million), 35 percent lower than the prior year
• Guardian Media Group completed the sale of its 22.4 percent stake in Ascential plc for £239 million (about $311.9 million).
• Readership is now more than 400,000 paid members and subscribers to print and digital products.
• Regular readers of TheGuardian.com increased by 17.4 percent between March 2016 and March 2017.
• Guardian has more than 140 million monthly unique users.
• Guardian Media Group has cut approximately 300 jobs.Headcount is now just over 1,500 employees.
• Total value of endowment and cash is now at £1.3 billion(about $1.7 billion USD), due to a 20.6 percent increase in the value of the Guardian’s long-term endowment fund and the sale of Ascential plc.

The company’s transformation is being led by CEO David Pemsel and editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media Katharine Viner. Pemsel commented on Guardian Media Group’s results.

“Despite the challenging market conditions faced by all news organizations around the world, our three-year strategy is well on track to achieve its financial goals and to secure the future of the Guardian. We are reducing our costs, growing new reader revenue streams, and developing our businesses in the U.S. and Australia,” said Pemsel.

“We have grown our digital revenues, and we are achieving strong growth in membership, subscriptions and contributions. More people are paying for Guardian journalism than ever before. This is helping to build a strong foundation from which we will continue to invest in some of the most trusted journalism in the world,” Pemsel added.

Neil Berkett, chair of Guardian Media Group, also made a statement.

“This set of results are a testament to the hard work of the management team and of everyone at Guardian Media Group. There is much to do, but the strategy is on track,” said Berkett. “The successful disposal of our remaining shares in Ascential means that the business has a clearer focus and more secure financial base from which to complete our three-year strategy and ensure that we continue to create world-class Guardian journalism in perpetuity.”

What’s next? According to a statement, Guardian Media Group is on pace to achieve its goal of breaking even on EBITDA by 2018-19, and to create long-term financial sustainability “in perpetuity.” Other goals including building a deeper relationship with readers, reducing costs by 20 percent and moving both newspapers – the Guardian and the Observer – to a tabloid format by 2018.

The Guardian has tweaked its membership and subscription offerings. As of yesterday, Guardian offered a Guardian digital pack and a print subscription to Guardian Weekly. In the U.S., the digital pack is $19.99 a month, after a free 14-day trial and includes a daily digital newspaper optimized for tablets and available to download offline, as well as an ad-free premium app. Guardian Weekly is available in the U.S. for $60 every three months. It includes a weekly print edition, but it doesn’t look like this includes access to the digital editions or the premium app.

Guardian offers other options for readers to help support their journalism. In the US, for examples, readers can become a supporter for just $6.99 a month. In the U.K., readers can become supporters, partners and patrons at various levels ranging from £49 to £599 a year which gives them access to tickets to event, priority bookings, discounts at Guardian Live and Guardian masterclasses and more.

Insider Take:

As a publisher, we understand the challenges journalism organizations like Guardian face every day, particularly finding the balance between the operational and long-term needs of the business as well as producing quality work on a daily basis. When the Guardian Media Group announced its cost-cutting plan in early 2016, it seems ambitious but necessary. We are pleased to see that they are figuring it out. Job losses are unfortunate, but they seem to have helped Guardian cut its costs which will improve its long-term financial viability.

Over the last couple of years, Guardian has tweaked its membership and subscription offerings, and if readership and paying subscriber numbers are any indication, they are beginning to find the right balance between what readers want and what they’re willing to pay for. We like the multi-tiered subscription offerings, and the various options offered to supporters both in the U.S. and the U.K. Guardian seems to be tailoring its products to the different needs of its global audience and giving them choices.

They aren’t where they need to be yet, but they are on pace to reach their goals and are moving forward in a positive direction. If they meet their three-year goals, they could serve as a good example of how a media organization can reinvent itself successfully in the digital age.