Pearson restructures after sales slump – Beurs.nl

Pearson restructures after a sales slump

Monday, 08 March 2021 9:12 am

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) Pearson has announced a restructuring, as expected, with lower sales realized in 2020 due to the Corona crisis, while operating profit was almost halved. This was reported by a British publisher on Monday.

With a strong focus on digital learning tools, filling professional skill gaps and gaining recognition and certification, the company is transforming itself for sustainable growth. This is reflected in the creation of five new divisions.

Local publishers of international courses are put up for sale and real estate ownership is significantly reduced.

Sales were down 12 percent from $ 3.87 billion to $ 3.40 billion last year. Online learning saw revenue growth, but global rating, international and North American course units recorded 13 to 19 percent lower revenues.

Adjusted operating profit fell from 1 581 million to 3 313 million. Adjusted earnings per share were halved from 57.8 pence to 28.7 pence.

Thanks to interest sales and lower restructuring costs at Penguin Random House, net operating profit increased from 5 275 million to 1 411 million. As a result, debt fell sharply from 0 1.016 billion to 3 463 million.

The company was able to maintain its operating cash flow at a reasonable level, reducing its working capital from 8 418 million to 5 315 million.

The final dividend was 13.5 pence, bringing the total for the year to 19.5 pence, the same as in 2019.

Outlook

By 2021, the British publisher expects revenue growth and an adjusted operating decision in line with current market expectations. The company has not yet released any firm profit estimates.

Good growth in virtual learning is forecast, thanks to the growth of enrollments for virtual schools during the current school year. The same number of enrollments are expected for the next school year, as a portion of “Govt.

Revenue from the U.S. higher education sector is expected to decline, but this is much lower than in previous years.

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