Pearson is a company built on the importance and pleasure of reading. Our authors, educators, editors, journalists and designers bring ideas and stories, facts and figures, words and images to life, in print and on screen.

This year alone, we'll publish our largest ever programme to help America's school children to read and we'll bring classic books to life in a new Penguin literature programme. We'll celebrate Penguin's 70th birthday with 70 'Pocket Penguins' reflecting the unique range of Penguin's publishing heritage. And, through the Financial Times, we'll bring a global perspective on business and politics to more readers than ever.

From our roots as the world's largest book publisher, we've grown to provide a range of related services: testing and learning software for students of all ages; data for financial institutions; public information systems for government departments.

We are leaders in education, consumer books and business information - all businesses that fuel the world's booming demand for knowledge. We're well placed to grow and meet our financial goals, and we know that these go hand in hand with our business goals: to educate, entertain and inform.