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Pearson, the Financial Times (FT), Penguin and educational publisher, has got off to roaring start to 2009, which means it should still hit earlier profit targets despite the recent weakening of the US dollar which accounts for over half its revenues.
Marjorie Scardino, chief executive, said: “Market conditions are tough and may stay that way, but we are confident that we will perform well this year and next.”
Pearson is the world's biggest educational publisher, and Scardino is happy about President Obama's commitment to education reform and investment in new technology for students and teachers.
In the UK the FT is riding out the downturn in advertising by increasing its revenues from subscriptions and online products. Penguin had a tough first half but has a strong list of new titles coming through in the second half.
Headline profits rose 32% to £111 million in the six months to end-June on revenues 22% higher at £2.4 billion. The dividend goes up 3.4% to 12.2p.
