Soaring demand for digital books has led Pearson, the owner of Penguin and the Financial Times, to lift its profit forecast for the second time this year.
Sales at the publisher's FT Group are up 11%, with advertising revenues bouncing back strongly, and the FT has been boosted by "strong demand" for both its print and digital editions (digital subscriptions are up 50% to over 180,000).
Stephen Fry's best-selling memoirs, The Fry Chronicles, were published in five formats - hardback, e-book, enhanced e-book, app and audio - as part of Pearson's efforts to tap into the growing popularity of digital versions.
Pearson shares rose 1.4% in early trading before falling back by 0.9% to 1146p. The publisher cautioned the outlook is still uncertain and much depends on the fourth quarter, a key selling season for its education division.
