Pearson Profits Up

Media giant Pearson has today announced forecasts of record profit figures for the year end 2007, in light of strong performance over the third quarter compared to previous year results derived from strong sales in key product areas.

The company behind the Penguin publishing house announced today that its revenue over the third quarter was up by 6% on the year, whilst profit figures were up by 20% on the same period off the back of continued strength in online sales channels.

The company also owns the Financial Times, which has contributed significantly to its performance in terms of increased profitability through growing online and offline advertising revenues as well as comparatively falling operating costs and growing efficiency in traditional cost centres.

Amongst its other major winners was its academic books division, which benefited from a stronger back to school sales period, whilst former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s book The Age of Turbulence also helped drive up sales.

Sales in the education division, which provides a range of materials from software through to classroom textbooks were strongly up on the period, growing 7% from last years reports, whilst advertising revenues across the board were up between 8% and 9% over the first three quarters of the year.

Pearson has shown strong performance over the last few years, setting several records for sales and profit reports in recent history. Combined with its almost universal market reach, Pearson has been seen as a stable investment opportunity, even amidst the recent market turmoils which only served to aid sales in its Financial Times business.

The company, which started life in construction, has diversified to become one of the most significant players in a number of ancillary markets, and its performance today and optimistic outlook for year end figures sent its shares skyrocketing amidst wider share price falls on the FTSE 100.