The bank said it has reduced its 2001 earnings-per-share forecast for Pearson by 8% and has cut the 2002 forecast by 17%.
However, it has said that there is an upside to the Pearson business and it predicts earnings per share to grow in the double digits in 2003. It has also upgraded the shares from neutral to outperform.
In this morning's trading, shares in Pearson, which owns the Financial Times and the Penguin book imprint, had fallen 2.2% to 714p. They had previously closed at 730p.
Yesterday, RTL, in which Pearson holds a 22% stake, reported a 27% decline in half-year earnings -- slightly worse than the figure it had forecast.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .