(Alliance News) - Pearson PLC on Monday said trading in the nine months to September 30 was "strong", with underlying sales up 7% year-on-year, allowing the company to reaffirm its full-year sales and adjusted profit outlook.
The London-based education publisher said Assessment & Qualifications sales grew 12% in the nine-month period due to a "continued focus on health and wellness, as well as US Student Assessment and UK & International Qualifications, as exam timetables continue to normalise after Covid-19 disruption".
Virtual Learning sales were up 5%, and English Language Learning sales up 28%. Higher Education sales were down 4%, however, holding back the overall growth.
Chief Executive Officer Andy Bird said: "We believe Pearson is well positioned for the future, and we are confident of being able to navigate the challenging macroeconomic environment. We are making strong progress in creating a digital learning ecosystem which can serve many more people across their lifetime of learning."
Looking ahead, Pearson said it is on track to deliver at least GBP100 million of cost efficiencies next year, and it remains on track to deliver group sales and adjusted operating profit in line with consensus expectations for 2022.
In August, Pearson reported pretax profit of GBP179 million for the six months that ended June 30, multiplied from GBP4 million a year before, as operating expenses were reduced by 7.3% to GBP690 million from GBP744 million.
The FTSE 100 stock was up 2.8% at 911.80 pence each on Monday morning in London.
By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com
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Pearson (PSON)