Pearson plc (LON:PSON) said in a nine-month trading update Wednesday that total revenue was flat year-on-year, and that the education-materials group remains on track to return to underlying full-year profit growth.
Of its flat total sales, the FTSE 100 company said that a 3% decline in US Higher Education Courseware was offset by the rest of the company growing in aggregate.
Pearson still expects 2018 adjusted operating profit in the range of £520mln to £560mln. It also said it now expects 2018 adjusted per-share earnings in the range of 68p to 72p as a result of one-off tax benefits and a resulting lower finance charge.
John Fallon, Pearson’s chief executive, said: "We are on track to return to underlying profit growth and, with a strong balance sheet, are set up well for the future. We are picking up the pace in our growth opportunities, performing well competitively and making good progress in our digital transformation.”
In July, Pearson posted half-year adjusted profit of £107mln.
READ: Pearson posts better-than-expected first-half results, on track to return to underlying full-year profit growth
The company on Wednesday said it still expects to deliver £300mln of annualised cost savings, with the full benefits accruing from the end of 2019 onwards.
In the US Higher Education Courseware segment, there were lower gross sales but that was partially offset by digital sales growth and better returns.
“During the quarter, revenues were modestly impacted by delivery delays related to the implementation of our new enterprise software systems in the US,” Pearson said of the Courseware unit. “We expect this timing effect to largely reverse in the fourth quarter. Even with this timing effect, our market share remains within the range of 40% to 41.5%.”
Pearson added 155 institutions to its Inclusive Access digital-delivery programme in the first nine months of 2018, bringing its total to over 650 institutions.
In the core segment, which includes the UK, Australia and Italy, revenue increased 2% due in part to strong growth in PTE Academic, which is focused on English-language testing.
Also said its Penguin Random House unit is performing in line with its expectations.
Fallon said: “There's a lot still to do but we are increasingly excited about the opportunity to help learners acquire the knowledge and skills to succeed in a fast-changing world."