Lord Stevenson to retire after eight years as Pearson chairman

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 28-Feb-05, 09:00

LONDON - Pearson's chairman Lord Dennis Stevenson is to retire after almost 20 years at the company, as the publishing giant said that profits were down by 5.9% on last year after problems at Penguin.

Adjusted pre-tax profits fell from £410m in 2003 to £386m in 2004, hit by a decline at book publisher Penguin, which has suffered from UK distribution problems and the weak dollar.

The news was better in its newspaper business, with a 69% rise in profits at the FT Group, publisher of the Financial Times, Les Echos and the Spanish newspaper it is selling, Recoletos.

The Financial Times achieved revenue growth for the first year since 2000 and reduced losses from £32m in 2003 to £9m, returning to profit in the fourth quarter. Sales increased 3%, with advertising revenues up 2% and circulation revenues also ahead.

The company also said it had high hopes of continuing to improve profits at the FT Group, with advertising revenues at the Financial Times up 3% in the year to date. If ad revenue growth continues, the newspaper will break even for 2005, Pearson said.

Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino said: "This year, we continue to expect strong growth at Pearson Education and the Financial Times Group, and we are confident that our performance will be within market expectations, even while we tackle some challenges at Penguin."

The retirement of Lord Stevenson had not been expected in the industry, and comes ahead of his 60th birthday later this year.

He said: "The board and I have naturally been discussing plans for my succession for some time, and this is a good moment to formalise the process."

The board is now on the hunt for his successor.

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