Pearson, the British publisher of the Financial Times and Penguin Books, has reported a 19% increase in underlying pre-tax profits for last year to £502m, slightly better than expected.
Total net profits fell by 28.5% to £446m as Pearson benefited from the sale of its stake in a Spanish publisher in 2005. Pearson's total sales jumped 8.6% to £4.14 billion.
The group, which makes about two-thirds of its revenue from its US-based education business, said schools sales increased 6% and higher education by 4%.
The Financial Times continued its recovery, increasing advertising revenues by 9%, while the Penguin book division grew sales by 3%.
