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...And we’re doing all of that now....
...Sales rose 8 per cent in Pearson’s legacy qualifications business, which operates assessment centres worldwide, and there was 24 per cent growth in its English language learning division....
...He said the UK’s competitive position was more likely affected by political upheaval, unpredictable foreign policy and tax rules as well as a lack of industrial policy....
...Cevian, the activist shareholder with a 10 per cent stake, pointed to Pearson’s “high-quality assets” such as its textbook business and its wide customer reach, and welcomed plans to cut costs by £100mn...
...Higher education, in comparison, was 21 per cent and assessments and qualifications 39 per cent....
...First-half figures were buoyed by strong performances in the company’s assessment and qualifications division as underlying sales rose 16 per cent, with those in its English language unit up 22 per cent....
...Pearson’s share price, which had dropped sharply since the summer, was up 8 per cent as markets opened on Friday....
...Pearson’s strongest sales growth last year was in its assessments business, which runs professional and student exams globally, and English language learning....
...The tool has developed into a fully fledged contract lifecycle management system but the focus on doing business at speed remains....
...By contrast, Pearson, addicted to profits from its legacy textbook publishing business, has been slow to digitise. Last year, the teenage Chegg surpassed the market value of 177-year-old Pearson....
...Total revenue fell 12 per cent to £3.4bn in 2020 as lockdowns hit learning and assessment activities in schools and businesses....
...Pearson’s global assessment and testing division reported 3 per cent growth in the fourth quarter, while international sales were flat....
...It is no surprise then that investors tend to take a dim view of both sectors, often placing low double-digit multiples on profits, even if a particular business is doing rather well....
...Sales at its international division that performs an English assessment on behalf of the UK home office as well as other exams fell by 26 per cent....
...Pearson has already divested unrelated businesses, such as the Financial Times and its stake in publisher Penguin Random House, to focus on education and assessment....
...It is not clear what direction an activist investor will take Pearson, but we do see significant value and its very presence could be a positive catalyst to realising this. We rate Pearson as a Buy....
...of clinical improvement 28 days later....
...Assessment is highly profitable but declining student numbers and increased pressure on the volume and duration of testing continue to weigh on this segment of Pearson's business....
...In so doing, it has become a textbook example of a business that failed to manage both digital disruption and market expectations. A textbook it would doubtless offer in expensive print format....
...“In 2009-10, pharma companies were priced as if they were going to go out of business, as if they were never going to have a [new] drug again,” he says....
...Pearson said its painful restructuring was set to stabilise the education group this year, as it reported underlying sales growth in all its business for the first time in six years....
...“I don’t think people have lost confidence in David Kershaw as a business leader — he knows what he is doing and they have a lot of experienced business leaders across their units,” he said....
...While Mr Fallon acknowledged the online course management business had experienced “some challenges” as old contracts came up for renewal, he said the business was now doing better at retaining institutional...
...But Stephen Pearson, Jupiter’s chief investment officer, disputed this....
...He set about recruiting talented managers and doing deals to boost Benckiser’s fortunes....
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