Bucking the media downturn, the Financial Times publisher Pearson posted a 2.8% increase in 2008 net profit. Even better, the company says it expects to at least maintain profits this
year because it is shielded from the worst of the media slowdown by its limited reliance on advertising revenue.
Pearson, which also owns Penguin Books, said net profit for 2008 rose
to $370 million. The bottom line was somewhat weighed down by a loss and tax charge related to last year's sale of Data Management, Pearson's data collection and scanning business.
At the
Financial Times, the business most exposed to advertising, circulation revenue grew 16% in 2008 and online-subscription revenue grew 9%. However, advertising revenue at the newspaper fell 3%,
dragged down by a 13% fall in the fourth quarter.
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