UK-based book and newspaper publisher Pearson swung to a first-half profit despite lower revenues thanks to cost cutting and increased advertising sales at its flagship Financial Times, the company said today.
Pearson, which sees the bulk of its profits in the second half, said today that first-half profit before taxes swung to a £2m sterling gain from a loss of £1m in last year's first half.
The company, which also publishes the Economist magazine and Les Echos newspaper, among others, said business advertising revenue grew 3% at the Financial Times, its first gains in three years.
Pearson reported that sales decreased to £1.59 billion from £1.67 billion a year earlier, blaming the weak US dollar. The publisher gets about 68% of its revenue and 87% of its operating profit from North America.
The advertising markets remain 'patchy' and 'erratic' Pearson Chief Financial Officer Rona Fairhead said today. However she added that recruitment ads, which tend to be a leading indicator for the wider advertising market, were up 20%.
Property and luxury goods advertising also improved while technology and business-to-business have not picked up, Fairhead said. The Financial Times Web site increased the number of subscribers by a third, to 76,000 from 57,000, she said.
