Digital products help Pearson earnings rise

The publisher said it expected to achieve adjusted earnings per share of about 80p for the year, up from 77.5p in 2010. It had previously said it expected earnings to grow.

“Though market conditions are anything but easy, we are sufficiently encouraged by our start to the year to raise both our guidance and our dividend,” chief executive Marjorie Scardino said in a statement.

“Structural changes in our industries are gathering pace, but we are confident that we have the strategy, the competitive positions, the investment capacity and the culture to sustain our strong record of performance.”

The group’s biggest division, educational publishing, which makes most of it profit in the second half, saw sales rise nine per cent and profits increase 31 per cent in the first half.

Profits at the Financial Times grew by 10 per cent, driven by digital subscriptions, it said, while the growing popularity of ebooks helped sustain profits at Penguin despite sales falling four per cent in the quieter period for book buyers.

Group sales increased three per cent to £2.42bn at the headline level, it said, and adjusted earnings per share were 16.8p, against 16.6p year ago, both ahead of analyst expectations of £2.38bn and 13.7p.