Pearson sees rise in advertising

Pearson is the owner of the Financial Times

Financial Times publisher Pearson has thanked an upturn in advertising revenues and costing cutting for a reduction in first-half losses.

For the six months to 30 June, it made a pre-tax, post-exceptional loss of £112m ($206m), compared with a £138m loss in the same period last year.

Sales revenue was down from £1.67bn to £1.59bn, which the company said was due to the weakness of the US dollar.

Pearson said it was confident it would meet its financial targets for the year.

The company made a pre-tax profit before goodwill write-offs are taken into account of £2m for the period, against a £1m loss last year.

"These results for the first half are a good sign of our financial and competitive success, though as usual they represent a small part of our annual total," said Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino.

"They make us confident that we will meet our goals, both this year and beyond, as our market conditions improve."

Pearson said that business advertising revenue was now growing for the first time in three years.

The company makes most of its sales and almost all of its profits in the second half of the year due to the seasonal phasing of its book publishing arm, which also includes Pearson Education.