Pearson holds guidance as Q1 sales rise 7%

Education publisher Pearson said it would receive a one-off tax boost this fiscal year as it maintained annual guidance.

The company on Friday said its effective tax rate would fall to 15-17% from 21% after the statute of limitations lapsed on a number of provisions.

Pearson, which recently fended off a bid approach from private equity outfit Apollo, reported first-quarter underlying sales growth of 7%, compared with 8% for the previous full year.

Growth was driven by its Assessment and English Language Learning division while sales in its Higher Education unit fell 5%, unchanged from 2021.