Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 that ended July 31 rose 2% over the comparable period in fiscal 2017 at John Wiley & Sons.
Sales in the quarter hit $411.4 million, up from $404.3 million a year ago. The company, however, reported a 67% decline in operating income, with profits falling to $14.5 million from the first quarter of fiscal 2017. A large part of the earnings decline was due to a $29 million restructuring charge taken in the most recent quarter.
Wiley's sales gains were limited due to a poor performance in the publishing segment where sales fell 9%, to $131 million. Within the publishing group, weak demand for print products led to a decline of 16% in the education unit and an 8% drop in its STM and professional publishing unit. Sales were up in the division’s test preparation and course workflow units.
Sales in Wiley’s other units rose in the quarter, with revenue in its research segment up 8%. Sales in its solutions group increased 9%.
