By Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in Pearson hit a 10-year high after the British education company reported a 10% rise in full-year adjusted operating profit, the top of its expectations, and said deploying AI would help deliver more growth in 2025.
Chief Executive Omar Abbosh said the adoption of AI was building good momentum across its business, from assessments and qualifications to higher education and workforce skills.
He said AI was going to transform how people worked and employees would need to learn how to use it.
“What Pearson has in its toolkit is incredibly useful for enterprises and companies,” he said in an interview on Friday.
“And when you have some of the world’s leading companies voting with their wallets on that, we feel very confident about our direction.”
Shares in Pearson rose 5% to a 10-year high of 1,401 pence.
Pearson demonstrated to investors how AI was being put to use in its products, for example by helping students prepare for exams by giving them personalised feedback to sample questions.
The British company said it had delivered a “solid” performance in assessment and qualifications and strong growth in English language learning, helping its top line grow 3%.
A 130 basis point improvement in its margin to 16.9% helped drive the profit rise.
The group also announced a 350 million pound share buyback and increased its dividend by 6% to 24 pence a share.
Pearson said it was positive about 2025 and it expected to meet market expectations for sales growth, profit and cash flow.
For 2025, analysts expect adjusted operating profit to rise 9% to 656 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.
($1 = 0.7952 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young and David Evans)
