Pearson on track as sales rise in first quarter
Pearson said it was on track to meet expectations for 2019 as the education services company posted rising sales for the first quarter.
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Total sales rose 2% in the three months to the end of March as sales increased 2% in North America and 4% in the core business. The growth rates exclude currency swings and businesses bought and sold in the period.
In a trading update on Friday, the company said it expected to achieve its target of more than £330m in cost savings by the end of 2019 and for operating profit between £590m and £640m.
Chief executive John Fallon said: "We are off to a strong start to the year, having laid good foundations in 2018. We continue to make progress against our strategic priorities, and we are bringing exciting new products and capabilities to market in 2019 which will continue to accelerate our move to digital. We expect our sales to stabilise this year and to increase our underlying profit further."
After a rocky few years Pearson is targeting digital products and services to support revenue growth. New products for the back-to-school period this year include digital courses and a maths tutor and essay marker powered by artificial intelligence.
Pearson also announced the appointments of two non-executive directors: Graeme Pitkethly, chief financial officer at Unilever, and Sherry Coutu, an entrepreneur and investor.