Pearson down as results don’t hit the mark

FTSE 100 educational publisher Pearson (LON:PSON) saw its share price drop 5.27% to 553.20p (as of 14:45 GMT) as headline sales for 2019 fell by 6%. Statutory pre-tax profits were roughly half of their 2018 level due to reduced gains from disposals.

CEO John Fallon commented: “With 76% of the company already growing strongly, and all parts of Pearson profitable, we are a simpler and more efficient company, completely focused on empowering people to progress through a lifetime of learning. The future of learning will be increasingly digital and we have built, by revenue, by far the world’s leading digital learning company. We’ve also built the platform by which we can lead the next generation of digital learning, with an exciting pipeline of new products and services all built around the things that learners care most about – experience, outcomes and affordability. As we benefit from further efficiencies from the investments we have made and deploy our strong balance sheet, Pearson is now well placed, in time, to grow in a profitable and sustainable way“.