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The company said: "We continue to expect Pearson to deliver adjusted operating profit in 2018 in the range of GBP 520m to GBP 560m. As a result of one-off tax benefits and a lower finance charge we now expect 2018 adjusted EPS to be in the range of 68p to 72p. We continue to expect year end net debt to be in line with 2017." Additionally, Pearson noted: "We remain on track to deliver GBP 300m of annualized cost savings, with the full benefits accruing from the end of 2019 onwards. US K12 Courseware business remains as held-for-sale."

Total revenues for the first nine months of the year were flat year on year with declines in US Higher Education Courseware offset by the rest of the company growing in aggregate. For the first nine months of 2018, Pearson's underlying revenue was flat in North America, up 2% in other core markets -- the U.K., Australia and Italy -- and down 4% in emerging markets. CEO John Fallon said: "We are on track to return to underlying profit growth and, with a strong balance sheet, are set up well for the future. We are picking up the pace in our growth opportunities, performing well competitively and making good progress in our digital transformation. There's a lot still to do but we are increasingly excited about the opportunity to help learners acquire the knowledge and skills to succeed in a fast changing world."

Pearson says, "Our guidance for the full year remains unchanged. We continue to expect net sales of our US Higher Education Courseware to be flat to down mid-single digit for the full year driven by ongoing underlying market pressures. We continue to expect Pearson to deliver underlying profit growth in 2018. We expect to report an adjusted operating profit of between GBP 520m and GBP 560m and adjusted earnings per share of 49p to 53p in 2018 based on our portfolio and exchange rates prevailing on 31st December 2017. We expect net debt to be in line with full year 2017. We calculate that a 5c move in the US Dollar exchange rate to Sterling would impact adjusted EPS by around 2p to 2.5p."