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 . Net debt increased to 1.1 billion pounds, from 654 million pounds the year before, but its operating cash flow jumped. 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 £ ##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 " .