The rise implies earnings per share of 63.5 pence, beating consensus of 60.61 pence and StarMine's SmartEstimate of 61.69 pence, but Pearson shares fell 1.8 percent by 0840 GMT, the leading decliners in a weak European media index.
Pearson shares have gained 52 percent in the last year, outperforming the index by 23 percent, even as many investors have switched to favour more cyclical stocks likely to benefit early from an economic upturn.
A strong US dollar also boosted Pearson's earnings, but was not a factor in the raised guidance. The company makes about 60 percent of its revenues in US dollars. Analysts welcomed the result but UBS noted that any positive market reaction would likely be tempered by the fact that an upgrade to guidance had been expected.
"There is no comment on trends into 2010, but given the company's strong track record of managing consensus, we would not expect significant upgrades to 2010 numbers as yet," UBS analyst Alastair Reid wrote. Chief Executive Marjorie Scardino said the company was encouraged by accelerating world-wide take-up of its digital learning products, and continued to take a long-term view. "We are not counting on any help from the global economy this year, but we still see significant long-term growth opportunities and we are pressing ahead with this successful strategy," she said in a statement.
Pearson has consistently invested in interactive digital learning technology, a strategy that has helped it gain market share in the United States, its biggest market, from rivals led by McGraw-Hill. McGraw-Hill said last month it expected the education market to improve this year, thanks to pent-up demand for textbooks from schools that cut spending last year, and higher enrolment in schools and colleges.