Pearson reports 7% increase in revenues

Revenues at Financial Times owner Pearson were up 7% year on year in the first quarter, to £1.1 billion.

At the FT Group, strong demand for subscriptions to the Financial Times in print and online, an increase in new sales at Mergermarket and a return to growth in advertising revenues all contributed to a good first quarter, Pearson said in a statement.

Marjorie Scardino, chief executive, said: “The first quarter never tells us a great deal about the full-year, but our direction of travel is encouraging. Our leadership in global education and the rapid growth of our digital and services businesses across Pearson continue to propel strong trading.

“We’ve seen some improvement in markets that were tough for us through the recession, but we remain cautious about the economic outlook. Still, we’re confident that we can build on our consistent record of profit growth this year.”