London — British education company Pearson reported accelerating growth in its third quarter, boosted by artificial intelligence (AI) and a stronger performance in assessment and qualifications, putting it on track to meet market expectations for the year.
It said all of its divisions were up in the quarter, including a return to growth in higher education, where AI study tools helped drive sales up 4%.
CEO Omar Abbosh said Pearson was accelerating the deployment of AI across its business and it was starting to see a commercial benefit.
There were over 5-million student interactions with the tools in the nine-month period to September, he said on Tuesday, and the technology had been extended to more than 90 titles for the recent back-to-school period.
He said higher education products with AI study tools were seeing double-digit growth in billings.
Abbosh has also identified workforce skills as a major opportunity for Pearson, and it recently signed a deal with ServiceNow, a US AI-driven platform that helps companies manage workflows.
“I see that as a very nice indicator of the kinds of deals that you’ll see us do more of in the future,” he told Reuters.
Shares in Pearson, up 11% year to date, were trading 3% higher in morning deals, as analysts at Citi said the company had delivered a “solid” update.
They noted that Pearson had achieved growth across all divisions for the first time for more than five years, excluding the unwinding of Covid-19 effects.
Analysts now expect Pearson to report adjusted operating profit of £598m ($775m) for the full year, according to a company-compiled consensus.
Reuters
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