Fiscal year 2024, which saw the sale or pending sale of three businesses and the resignation of CEO Brian Napack, proved to be a transitional year for Wiley. Acknowledging that fiscal 2024 was "an eventful year," Wiley interim CEO Matthew Kissner told analysts during a conference call that he was "proud to say we finished strong."
Given the many changes at the company over the past year, it’s no surprise that the most recent Wiley financial report is a jumble of numbers. On the top line, total sales fell 7% in the year ended April 30, 2024, to $1.87 billion—but when revenue from the businesses that Wiley has sold or will sell are excluded, sales fell only 1%, to $1.62 billion. Likewise, one-time charges of $183.4 million associated with divestures and other streamlining initiatives that included eliminating 103 positions at Wiley’s New Jersey headquarters turned an operating income of $52.5 million into a net loss of $200 million.
Wiley has almost finished making its previously announced divestments, with the sale of Wiley Edge's India operation to be finalized later this calendar year, and the company expecting to complete the sale of its CrossKnowledge division by the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. At the beginning of 2024, the company sold its university services business, and on May 31 it completed the sale of its Wiley Edge business—with the exception of its India operations.
In the two remaining groups at Wiley, sales in the research segment fell 3%, to $1.04 billion, while sales in the learning group rose 5%, to $574.7 million. Sales in the learning division benefitted from a one-time generative AI project with a large tech company that generated $23 million; excluding revenue from that deal, learning sales rose 1%. The company added that it is currently at work on another generative AI project worth $21 with a second tech company.
Both projects are licensing deals involving its book content and are aimed at helping companies develop their large language models, Kissner explained, noting that he sees demand for Wiley's content accelerating among tech companies. Kissner acknowledged that Wiley is "learning as we go" about what the AI opportunities are and he stressed that the company is structuring terms that are favorable to both parties while also protecting Wiley's future rights. Wiley is also using AI internally on such projects as helping to verify the integrity of its content in its research group and improving customer service, Kissner added.
Wiley’s financial forecasts for fiscal 2025 suggest that its management team, feels confident that the worst is behind the company. Revenue is projected to increase 2%–4.5% in the year, with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) projected to rise 4.3%–11%.
