Pearson paints gloomy ad picture

MEDIA group Pearson has painted a gloomy picture for advertising, saying it has still not seen any sign of recovery in revenues. But the Financial Times publisher said it remained on track for a strong earnings rebound this year.

Pearson said operating profits at its FT Group division would fall 10-15% this year but its education and consumer publishing business was poised for good revenue and earnings growth.

The group posted a pre-tax profit before goodwill, integration costs and non-operating items of £26m ($40.73m) for the six months to end June, compared to a previous loss of £28m and on revenues of £1.813bn.