LONDON (Reuters) - British education group Pearson (L:PSON) reported a 6% rise in operating profit to 581 million pounds for 2019, slightly below guidance lowered last month, as falling textbook sales in North America offset growth elsewhere.
The company warned in January that its 2020 profit would be lower than market expectations as textbook sales continued to slide. It also at that time downgraded its 2019 forecast for operating profit to about 590 million pounds.
Chief Executive John Fallon, who will retire this year, has over his seven year tenure sought to turn Pearson into a world leader in digital education, while at the same time sales of profitable college textbooks have fallen precipitously.
"The future of learning will be increasingly digital and we have built, by revenue, by far the world's leading digital learning company," he said on Friday.
But the digital transformation has been painful for investors, with the company's shares falling 35% in the last 12 months alone.
It said it expected the 2019 trend in U.S. higher education courseware to continue this year, with heavy declines in print partially offset by modest growth in digital.
For 2020 it is forecasting operating profit of between 410 million and 490 million pounds, after excluding the contribution from its 25% stake in Penguin Random House, which it is selling to Bertelsmann.