16th Jan 2019 08:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pearson PLC on Wednesday said it expects to meet its profit guidance for the recently-ended year as "strategic progress" continued in 2018.
For 2018, the FTSE 100-listed educational publisher expects adjusted operating profit to be between GBP540 million and GBP545 million, in line with its guidance range of GBP520 million to GBP560 million.
Total underlying revenue is expected to dip 1% year-on-year due to declines in the firm's US business, particularly in US Higher Education Courseware.
Meanwhile, Online Program Management registered 14% growth in global course registrations and revenue growth of 9%. In Professional Certification revenue grew 4%.
The company's cost efficiency programme is tracking "ahead of plan" with around GBP130 million of cost savings delivered in 2018. By the end of 2019, Pearson expects to reach annualised cost savings of GBP330 million.
Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted operating profit for 2019 of between GBP590 million to GBP640 million.
Chief Executive Officer John Fallon said: "We have made good progress in 2018, returning Pearson to underlying profit growth. We are also building a platform to enable Pearson to achieve its full digital potential, empowering more people around the world to learn the knowledge and skills to flourish in the changing world of work. There is much still to do, but we are increasingly confident in Pearson's potential to grow and prosper."
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