Prospects for significant trading recovery in the second half of the year look good, Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino will tell a Merrill Lynch telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) conference today.
Scardino says that whilst first half results will ‘reflect a significantly weaker advertising environment’ than the same period in 2001, earnings per share should pick up during H2, benefiting from lower losses at the group’s internet businesses and a strong performance in educational publishing in the US.
At the Financial Times Group though, advertising revenues are significantly down on last year, with no current signs of recovery. The FT.com website remains on track to break-even by the fourth quarter of this year, the company said.
