Revenue at John Wiley & Sons rose 4% in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended October 31, 2019, over the comparable period a year ago. Net income increased 2.1% in the quarter over the previous year, to $44.7 million. The sales performance benefited from revenue generated by acquisitions made in the current fiscal year, which were partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange. Excluding acquisitions and currency changes, sales in the quarter were down 1%.
Wiley’s research publishing and platforms group, its largest division, had a sales increase of 2% in the quarter, primarily driven by growth in open access publishing volume, Wiley reported. Sales in the academic and professional learning division, which includes Wiley’s higher education operations, fell 6% compared to last year’s second quarter. The drop, Wiley said, was due to a decline in book publishing sales, which offset growth in test preparation. Excluding Wiley’s zyBooks and Knewton acquisitions, organic revenue in the group declined 10%.
The education services group reported an 80% increase in revenue led by organic growth of 10% and the addition of Learning House, which was acquired in November 2018. The education services division includes the company’s online program management unit and related businesses.
For the first six months of fiscal 2020, revenue rose 3.6% over the comparable period of fiscal 2019, with sales hitting $890 million. Net income, however, fell 31.1%, to $48.3 million. The company reaffirmed its financial forecast for all of fiscal 2020, with sales expected to come in between $1.86 billion and $1.88 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $357 million to $372 million.
