For the third quarter ended January 31, 2014, net income at John Wiley & Sons fell 8%, to $52.5 million, on a 3% decline in revenue, to $458 million. Both figures include a number of one-time factors including fluctuations in foreign currency, restructuring and impairment charges, and the sale of most of its consumer publishing assets in the last fiscal year. Taking into account those different factors, Wiley said adjusted net income was nearly flat at $55.4 million and sales rose 1%, to $472.4 million.
On an adjusted basis, sales in the professional development segment fell 5%, to $94.2 million. The revenue decline (which excludes foreign exchange and the divested consumer publishing results) was due to a 9% decline in print books (to $64.7 million) that reflected lower sales of technology books and the “discontinuation of certain low-margin non-divested consumers titles,” Wiley reported. Sales of e-books rose 9% in the quarter, to $11.5 million, and online training and assessment revenue rose to $8.8 million. Business remained the professional development group’s largest category with sales up 1%, to $42.3 million, in the quarter, which accounted for 45% of the group’s sales.
Also on an adjusted basis, Wiley reported that revenue in its education group was flat--excluding currency changes--at $114 million. Revenue was up at WileyPLUS and Deltak and custom products, but down 8% in both print books and e-books. Revenue in the research segment, Wiley's largest, was up 3%, to $249 million. Sales of e-book rose 12% in the quarter and sales of open access materials rose by $3 million. Journal subscription revenues rose 7%. As in the professional development and research groups, sales of print books dropped, down 16%.
Wiley has recorded $51.8 million in restructuring charges since the program was announced in January 2013. It expects to take $10 million in charges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.
