Sales up 8 percent at Financial Times

Pearson Plc, the parent company of the Financial Times, reported its third quarter results on Monday and said that revenue has risen 7 percent for the first nine months of the year, while it expects growth of 10 percent for the full year.

Mark Sweney of The Guardian in London writes, “Overall Pearson, which owns assets including an educational publishing operation and book company Penguin, increased underlying sales 5% year on year in the first nine months of 2010.

“‘Demand in some of our markets remained subdued in the third quarter, and the macroeconomic outlook is still uncertain,’ the company said in a trading update. ‘Our businesses continue to generate significant growth in digital and in developing markets, and to benefit from further efficiency gains.’

“The company said that FT Group had ‘another good quarter’ in the three months to the end of September, with underlying revenues up 8% year on year across the first nine months of 2010.

“FT Group was boosted by strong demand for both print and digital content. Digital subscriptions to FT content have grown more than 50% year on year in the first nine months to more than 180,000, as well as ‘sustained advertising growth.'”

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