Bestsellers boost Penguin owner Pearson

Penguin owner Pearson hailed a record best-selling performance today after a string of authors shot up the book charts.

Pearson said 85 of its Penguin titles made it on to the New York Times best-seller lists in the first six months of the year, while 43 were in the top 10 in the UK.

The record haul, which included books by Patricia Cornwell and Jeremy Clarkson, saw Penguin bank first-half profits of £18m (€26.3m) – up 38% on last year.

The strong results at Penguin helped Pearson turn pre-tax losses of £6m (€8.8m) in the first half last year into profits of £31m (€45m).

Pearson also publishes the Financial Times and education books in the United States and Britain.