Britain's Pearson said it expected its 2015 earnings to rise after solid growth in its North American higher education unit.
This helped it bring an end to a turbulent two-year period of restructuring and profit downgrades.
The education and media group set out its early forecasts for the next financial year after saying it expected to post 2014 earnings per share towards the top of its guidance, at 66 pence compared with a range of 62 to 67 pence.
The group said for 2015 it expected adjusted earnings per share to come in between 75 and 80 pence.
"Despite continuing challenging market conditions, overall we had a good competitive performance in 2014," chief executive John Fallon said.
"We enter 2015 a simpler, leaner, more cash generative business, well set for long-term growth and success, helping more people around the world make progress in their lives through learning," he added.
Having grown rapidly until 2012, the 171-year-old world leader in education spent 2013 and 2014 restructuring to increase its focus on the faster growth areas of digital services and emerging markets to complement its core US education division.
The process, which coincided with a raft of management changes, has taken its toll, with associated costs coming in higher than expected and the firm's shares still to recover from an earnings downgrade at the beginning of 2014.
Pearson, which also owns the Financial Times, said it had faced tough market conditions throughout 2014, due to pressures on budgets in North America and Britain, its two largest markets, and a smaller textbook adoption in South Africa.
It benefited from strong performances in its online services, its English language learning in China and by improving the profitability of the FT Group.
