Operating income declined 3% in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019, at John Wiley compared to fiscal 2018, while revenue rose 1%. Total sales at the company hit $1.80 billion, while operating earnings dropped to $224.0 million from $231.5 million a year ago. Figures include six months' worth of results from Wiley’s Learning House acquisition, which added $32 million to revenue but cut into earnings by $8 million. The negative impact of foreign currency translations dropped revenue by $32 million and operating income by $13 million.
Wiley’s solutions segment had the biggest revenue increase in the year, with revenue up 18%, to $288.5 million, helped in part by the Learning House acquisition. Revenue in Wiley’s largest category, research, increased to $937 million, from $934 million in fiscal 2018. Within the segment, open access revenue rose 30% in the year, offsetting a 2% decline in journal subscriptions, which still generated $661 million in revenue.
The weakest performing segment was publishing where revenue fell 7%, to $574 million. The segment had an 8% decline in STM and professional publishing and a 16% drop in education publishing, the latter of which now represents less than 9% of Wiley’s total revenue, the company noted. A publishing bright spot was a 14% increase in Wiley's test preparation and certification unit.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2020, Wiley is expecting revenue to be between $1.84 billion and $1.87 billion, and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) to be between $360 million and $375 million, down from $388 million in fiscal 2019.
