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Pearson PLC on Monday reported a boost in profit and sales in its half year, with its outlook remaining in line with expectations. Pretax profit in the six months ended June 30 was up 24% to £236 million, from £185 million the year prior. Sales increased 5.0% to £1.88 billion, from £1.79 billion year-on-year The company said this reflected a strong underlying performance, portfolio changes and currency movements. ‘We have continued to execute well operationally and maintained a sharp focus on delivering efficiencies whilst positioning our portfolio for long-term growth,’ said Chief Executive Andy Bird. ‘The progress we are making to accelerate our digital journey, increase interconnectivity and leverage our long-standing AI capabilities will enable us to serve an ever-greater number of individuals and enterprises with our trusted, proprietary learning content.’ The cost of goods sold in the first half fell 0.3% to £960 million, from £963 million the year before. Net debt widened by 64% to £911 at the end of June, from £557 million at the end of 2022. Pearson said this was principally due to cash outflows on acquisitions and disposals of subsidiaries, tax payments, dividend payments and capital expenditure, partially offset by positive operating cash flow. Pearson proposed a dividend of 7.0 pence per share, up 6.1% from 6.6p per share the year before. The company said it was confident of achieving its 2023 expectations, and that 2023 adjusted operating profit and profit margin outlook was in line with expectations. Pearson said it remained on track to achieve £120 million of cost efficiencies in 2023, having delivered a little under half in the first half of this year. Pearson was trading at 878.00 pence in London, up 1.0% in London on Monday morning. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
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