Pearson books another record end to the year

Published on Monday 22 January 2007 11:51

PEARSON, which owns the Financial Times and the Penguin book brand, said today that it remained on course to bank another set of record annual profits after a strong fourth quarter.

In bullish mood, the publishing group said it had seen increased circulation and advertising at the Financial Times, while its Penguin arm benefited from a strong year-end publishing and selling season.

Chief executive Marjorie Scardino said: "A strong all-round performance in our key fourth-quarter selling season capped another very good year.

"All around Pearson, our investments in content and technology are paying off.

"Those advantages have produced Pearson's highest ever profits in 2006, and will bolster future growth."

A number of Penguin authors have won top literary prizes over the past 12 months, giving sales a boost at Pearson - including Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss, which scooped the Man Booker prize for fiction last year.

The London-based group which employs more than 32,000 people over 60 countries, added that its education division had seen continued revenue growth and above-expectations margin improvement as it benefited from increased investment in educational testing and technology.

The sale of the group's Government Solutions business to Veritas Capital is set to be completed in the first quarter of the current financial year.

Pearson is due to unveil its end-of-year results on February 26.