About:
Wiley competes in three markets, represented by its core divisions: Scientific, Technical, Medical, and Scholarly (STMS); Professional/Trade (P/T); and Global Education. STMS (also known as Wiley-Blackwell) is the largest publisher for professional and scholarly societies. Wiley-Blackwell's programs encompass journals, books, major reference works, databases, and laboratory manuals, offered in print and electronically. P/T serves professionals and consumers alike, producing books, subscription content, and information services in all media under targeted categories. The portfolio of global brands includes For Dummies and Frommer's. Global Education publishes educational materials in all media formats.
Key company developments in 2011 & 1st half year 2012
Financial:
Driven by a revenue growth across all business segments, Wiley’s fiscal performance in 2011 closed with a record high of $1.74 billion against $1.7 billion in 2010. The company’s net debt was reduced another year by almost one-half to $252 million from $495 million at the end of fiscal year 2010. In 2011, Wiley repurchased over 577,000 shares.
STMS, which recorded the highest growth among the three divisions at $999 million, benefited from 37 new society partnerships, as well as 100 renewed contrac, an increased journal subscription, and digital book growth. Even though growth at the Professional/Trade division was offset by a bad debt charge of $9 million to Borders, revenue grew 2% to $437 million. Global Education closed fiscal 2011 with an increase of 7% to $307 million, driven by 26% revenue growth in digital products and a strong front list.
Ownership, mergers & acquisition, internal organization:
In May 2011, Wiley’s key personnel were transitioned. Stephen M. Smith became Wiley’s new President and CEO, succeeding William J. Pesce who retired after 22 years. During the last year, three new Senior Vice Presidents were appointed leader of Wiley’s three core businesses: Mark Allin joined the Professional/Trade segment, Steven Miron became Vice President in the STMS business, and Joseph Heider was named Vice President of Global Education. All of them have been serving the company in major roles for several years.
International:
Wiley prioritizes expansion to the Middle East, China, and Brazil.
Digital:
STMS contributed the highest digital product share, at 59%. Global Education followed at 16% and Professional/Trade at 10%. Wiley Online Library was launched in summer 2010, replacing Wiley InterScience and providing 4 million articles from 1,500 journals and over 10,000 books and reference works. the online resource has gained the second position among most-visited academic publishers.
Bestselling authors & titles:
In 20 years, Wiley has launched 1600 For Dummies titles, with 250 million in print. In addition, more than 40 Dummies apps and a live subscription service were launched recently, providing 24-hour technical support via phone and chat. According to Wiley, “it is the fastest-growing such service in the market with 30% month-on-month growth.”
Key points for analysis & conclusions:
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Earlier developments:
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Note: Figures are based on sales generated in calendar 2011 or—for corporations with a fiscal year—from fiscal 2011. Data are from publicly available sources and include sales of books, journals, and digital products. Because publishing data were unavailable, Pannini and Disney/Hyperion are excluded from the rankings. The listing and publisher profiles were compiled by international publishing consultant Rudiger Wischenbart under the aegis of Livres Hebdo.
