Newspaper publisher Pearson has announced a strong start to 2006, with trading in line with expectations and a significant increase in profits expected from the firm’s Financial Times Group.
The company, which also owns Penguin Books, expects strong underlying earnings growth, good cash generation and an improvement on return from invested capital.
The Financial Times is reported as performing well, with circulation up by 4% fuelling a 13% rise in advertising revenue. The company also reports a continuing conversion of advertising gains into profit, running at a rate of at leasat 80%.
Elsewhere, Penguin’s strong performance continued into the beginning of 2006, with Pearson expecting a similar rate of growth this year to 2005 as a whole. Gains in efficiency will help the company to achieve this, it stated.
Announcing the results, chairman Glen Moreno, said: “We are encouraged by our sustained momentum in the early part of 2006, and we are in good shape to deliver positive results for customers and shareholders year after year.”
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