Pearson Annual Report and Accounts 2010

Performance
- Financial overview: 2010
- Outlook: 2011
- Education
  - North American Education
  - International Education
  - Professional Education
- FT Group
- Penguin
- Other financial information
- Principal risks and uncertainities

Professional Education

Our Professional business is focused
on publishing, training, testing and
certification for professionals.

Over the past five years, we have increased operating profit from £17m in 2006 to £51m in 2010. We expect these businesses to benefit from rising demand for work-related skills and qualifications in both developed and developing markets and from close connections with professional content and customers in other parts of Pearson.

Key performance indicators

£ millions	2010	2009	Headline growth	CER growth	Underlying growth
Sales	333	275	21%	20%	6%
Adjusted operating profit	51	43	19%	16%	5%

Professional testing highlights in 2010 include:

We continued to see good growth at Pearson VUE, with test volumes up 3% on 2009 to approximately 8 million. Average revenues per test are increasing as we develop a broader range of services and enhance our systems and assessments to meet our customers’ current and future needs.
Pearson VUE renewed a number of major contracts including the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) of Great Britain and the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) of Northern Ireland; Cisco; and Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. On 11 January 2011, we announced a 12-year extension of our relationship with the Graduate Management Admission Council to administer the Graduate Management Admission Test.
We also won a number of new contracts to deliver computer-based tests in the US, UK and the Middle East, covering the real estate, accountancy, legal, healthcare, skills and finance sectors.

GMAT retained

A testing decade

At the start of 2011, our largest professional testing contract with the Graduate Management Admission Council to administer the GMAT test was renewed until 2022.

Professional publishing highlights in 2010 include:

Our Professional publishing business was level in 2010 with steady margins as strong growth in digital products and services offset continued challenging trading conditions in the retail market and international markets, as well as a planned reduction in the number of print titles published.
We launched online learning products with customisable content, assessment and personalised study paths and also delivered 450 hours of technical training through online subscriptions for the IT certification market.
We developed applications for social networks and mobile devices to extend the reach and accessibility of our content and videos available within our Safari Books Online platform.

Professional training highlights in 2010 include:

We acquired Melorio plc, one of the UK’s leading vocational training groups, for £98m, supporting our vocational education strategy by combining Melorio’s training delivery skills with our existing complementary strengths in educational publishing, technology and assessments. Melorio traded well in the second half of the year securing a number of large key contracts for training delivery, and successfully graduating and placing the largest IT graduate cohort in the history of the business. Our investment in systems, streamlining the course offering and training centres and back office integration are all on track.

To learn more about Melorio, watch our film at www.pearson.com/films

Pearson