Educational materials supplier Pearson revealed it suffered a £ ##500 ( $ 3.26bn ) pre - tax loss for 2016 as it continues with its digital transition , but claims that figures for underlying operating profits , debt and cash flow were all better than expected . The century - old company , which supplies everything from textbooks to online degrees around the world , has been hit hard by the shift to the digital , but got good news from top - five shareholder Lindsell Train , which said it was delighted by Pearson . Chief executive John Smith said he was " very optimistic about the five - year outlook for this business " .
Educational materials supplier Pearson revealed it suffered a £2.6bn ($3.26bn) pre-tax loss for 2016 as it continues with its digital transition, overshadowing news that figures for underlying operating profits, debt and cash flow were all better than expected. The 173-year-old company, which supplies everything from textbooks to online degrees around the world, has been hit hard by the shift to the internet, but got good news from top-five shareholder Lindsell Train, which said it was sticking by Pearson. Chief executive John Fallon said he was "very optimistic about the five-year outlook for this business".