Pearson pretax profit fell in 2021, raises dividend, plans to buy back shares
Pearson PLC
PSON,
said Friday that pretax profit fell in 2021, raised its dividend payout and said it planned to buy back shares.
The FTSE 100 education company said pretax profit for the year was 157 million pounds ($210.10 million) compared with GBP354 million the year prior.
Adjusted operating profit–one of Pearson’s preferred metrics–rose to GBP385 million from GBP313 million in 2020. This compares with the company’s forecast of GBP375 million provided on Jan. 19.
Revenue for the year increased to GBP3.43 billion from GBP3.40 billion a year before.
The company said it is confident about revenue growth for 2022, and that it expects adjusted operating profit to be in line with current market expectations.
Pearson also said it intends to start a share-buyback program of GBP350 million in 2022.
The board declared a final dividend of 14.2 pence a share. This compares with 13.5 pence a share declared in 2020.
Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com
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