FT’s Parent Reports Results That Beat Expectations; CEO Lauds Biz Newspaper

Pearson PLC, the parent of the Financial Times, reported its 2009 financial results that beat expectations, and CEO Marjorie Scardino told listeners on a conference call that the business newspaper was an excellent brand and part of the company.

Georgina Prodhan of Reuters writes, “IDC brings in most of the FT Group’s sales and profits. The rest comes from FT Publishing — which includes the Financial Times newspaper, FT.com and half of The Economist, and made 2009 sales of 258 million pounds and operating profit of 39 million.

“Asked whether an IDC sale would leave FT Publishing vulnerable to being disposed of, Scardino said: ‘I wouldn’t answer that question even if I wanted to.’

“But she added: ‘The FT is a pretty integral part of Pearson. It’s an amazing brand. Doors are opened to us around the world because of this newspaper… We’re very proud of it.’”

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