With the sale of its 25% stake in Penguin Random House to Bertelsmann completed in April, Pearson said it is committed to moving forward as a learning company. “Our purpose has never been so relevant: we exist to help everyone achieve their potential through learning,” said chief executive Andy Bird in a prepared statement upon the release of Pearson’s financial results for 2020. Pearson said its strategy is now geared around three “global market opportunities”: the rise in online and digital learning; addressing the workforce skills gap; and meeting the growing demand for dependable accreditation and certification.

The sale of the PRH stake netted Pearson proceeds of £531 million last year, resulting in a pre-tax profit of £180 million. The gain helped to offset declines in revenue, which were due to the impact of Covid-19 and company divestitures, to boost operating profit to £411 million, from £275 million in 2019. Total revenue fell 12% in the year, to £3.40 billion.

Pearson reported that sales in its North American Courseware division, which is responsible for sales to the higher education market, declined 18%, a drop due in part to the sale of its K-12 operations as well as a decline in print sales. In its US Higher Education Courseware division, sales declined 12%, with total unit sales increasing slightly, and digital registrations, including e-books, growing 9%. In Canada, courseware sales were down significantly due to school and bookstore closures, Pearson reported.

The company said that last year, it “continued to see unbundling of premium priced print and digital products for digital only formats.” Last year, Pearson said, it sold 2.2 million textbooks to American colleges, compared with 3.7 million in 2019. Sales of standalone e-book units into colleges, however, rose 33% over 2019, to 3.7 million units.

Pearson expects worldwide revenue to be up over 2020 in 2021, but did not specify by how much. It said that, after a slow start in the first quarter because of a strong first quarter in 2020, it expects to see improvement in the second and third quarters, “assuming further pandemic recovery.”