The Penguin Group

Penguin is one of the world's great names in consumer publishing. From literary prize winners to commercial blockbusters; from a child's first picture book to the classics of literature; from fantastic fiction to beautiful reference works, Penguin publishes an unrivalled range of books in 100 countries. Penguin is the world's pre-eminent English language publisher - number one or two in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, India and Canada.

The Penguin Group

increased sales by 5% and operating profits by 11%, in spite of Penguin's £10m share of our £30m investment in new back office systems and processes.

In the US, Penguin published 24 titles that became New York Times number one bestsellers, more than any other publisher and a 25% increase on 2001. In the UK, Penguin posted its best performance on the bestseller lists for a decade as 45 titles reached the Neilsen Bookscan top 15, a 10% increase on 2001. This strong performance enabled Penguin to gain share in both the US and the UK.

Dorling Kindersley increased sales by 8% and profits by £15m as it benefited from its integration within Penguin, the revitalisation of DK's creative style and our investment in a stronger frontlist of key titles.

Pearson is now, by some distance, the world's largest book publisher and Pearson Education and Penguin are working on a number of initiatives to maximise the scale advantages that this brings.

About the Penguin Group

Over the last four years, Penguin has doubled its presence on the bestseller lists in the US and UK thanks to writers such as Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Jan Karon, Nora Roberts, Nick Hornby and Jamie Oliver.

We are the world's leading children's publisher, helping characters such as Peter Rabbit, The Little Engine That Could and Spot capture the imagination of children all over the world through imprints such as Puffin, Grosset & Dunlap and Ladybird.

Dorling Kindersley's beautifully illustrated reference books help children and adults of all ages to learn about the world around them in more than 90 countries and 40 languages.

Penguin is working hard to discover the writing stars of tomorrow. In 2002 our debut authors included Hari Kunzru and Jonathan Safran Foer, winner of the Guardian First Book Award, in the UK, and Gary Shteyngart, winner of the Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and Sue Monk Kidd in the US.

In 2003 we relaunched the Penguin Classics range which includes more than 1,000 titles from Homer's The Odyssey to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four.

People discover the world using our travel guides. Together, our Rough Guides and Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Guides, have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.