Pearson halts buyback, sees up to 35 million pound hit to profit from virus

(Reuters) - British publisher Pearson said on Monday it would halt share buybacks as it predicted a 25 million pounds to 35 million pounds hit to operating profit this year due to the coronavirus-driven closure of many of its academic testing centres. "To date, we have seen test cancellations which impact our 2020 operating profit by around £15m after mitigating actions. We believe there is risk of further state test cancellations which could have a similar impact on profit," the company said.