Pearson PLC bumped up its full-year profit guidance for 2021 after significant gains in testing and qualification services.
The London-based education and training group’s full-year adjusted operating profit would increase by about a third from 2020 to ~385 million pounds and ahead of consensus expectations.
Earlier, Pearson said it remains on track to deliver adjusted operating profit in line with market expectations of 377 million pounds.
Pearson will announce full-year results, including a strategic update and 2022 guidance, on February 25.
Pearson pivoted from a traditional publisher of textbooks and news to a digital services provider.
Pearson reported an 18 percent jump in sales from Assessment & Qualifications, its largest business.
CEO Andy Bird’s flagship app, Pearson+, has notched 2.75 million users and 133,000 paid subscribers.
Pearson’s shares have had a roller coaster ride since former Walt Disney Co. executive Bird’s appointment in October 2020 as he accelerated restructuring of the business, Bloomberg reports.
However, the stock gave up much of its gains in recent months as more people opted for jobs in the business’s core U.S. market instead of signing up for its courses.
Pearson named former AT&T Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. marketing executive Esther Lee as a new director. The hiring follows the appointment of former Twitter Inc. Executive Chair Omid Kordestani as a non-executive director and Chair designate last month.
