Pearson warns US economic recovery to hit profits It comes at an embarrassing moment for John Fallon, Pearson's chief executive, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos to give a private talk on "the Future of Education." Pearson has been hit particularly hard in a decline in admissions to US career colleges, which provide two-year courses in vocational disciplines such as nursing and cookery. Mr Fallon said: "Pearson made good progress on our strategic goals in 2013 but our trading and financial performance has been weaker than expected, particularly in North America. With trading conditions still challenging in 2014, this further underlines the importance of the work we started in 2013 to reduce our established cost base and redirect our investment towards our biggest future growth opportunities. Pearson has embarked on radical restructuring, including merging Penguin into a joint venture with Bertelsmann's Random House. The overall restructuring programme cost £170m, about £30m more than expected, and delivered savings of £40m. The move has led to warehouse closures and job cuts, which a spokesman said had progressed faster than expected, leading to the higher-than expecting restructuring costs for 2013. The merger also meant Pearson's operating profit was reduced by £29m as it received its share of the joint venture's profits post-tax. Mr Falon said: "We will accelerate this transformation in 2014 and remain confident about our growth prospects in 2015 and beyond." Pearson, which makes 60pc of its sales in the American market, is focused on growing its digital and emerging markets businesses. It bought the Brazilian schools operator Grupo Multi for £505m in December. The Financial Times Group, which publishes the Financial Times and own 50pc of the Economist, provided a bright spot of "good profit growth." The Financial Times itself, subject of persistent sell-off speculation, was particularly strong, Pearson said, without providing financial details. It will report full results at the end of next month.