John Wiley saw 5% revenue jump in 2018

Academic publisher John Wiley has reported an increase in revenue in both its fourth quarter 2018 and whole fiscal year reports. For the fiscal year ended 30th April 2018, revenue grew 5% to $1,796.1m (£1,346.4m) and operating income increased by 16% to $239.5m (£179.5m), driven again by strong operational performance and benefits from foreign currency, as well as a one-time benefit from US tax reform.

However sales in the publishing group specifically decreased by 2% to $617.6m, with revenue for STM and professional publishing dropping 1% in the fiscal year to $287.3m (£215.34m) and sales in education publishing declining 5% to $187.2m (£140.3m).

Meanwhile, Wiley's research arm saw sales increase by 9% to $934.4m, driven by 6% growth in journal subscriptions and a 47% increase in open access revenue. The company's solutions business also saw an increase, of 5% to reach $244m (£182.95m).

In the fourth quarter, overall revenues increased by 6% to $477.3m (£357.8m), while operating income and earnings per share (EPS) also increased by 18% and 16%, respectively. However, publishing revenues were down 2% to $151.1m (£113.3m).

The company’s move to digital is continuing with revenue from digital products now accounting for 73% of total revenue, up from 68% the year before. According to the company, a "signature milestone" was achieved with the launch of its online resource hub, Wiley Online Library.

Brian Napack, president and c.e.o., said of the results: “We are pleased with our team’s performance this year, which landed us ahead of guidance, and we are energized about the future. Wiley’s strong brands, publishing assets, technology platforms, market relationships and capacity to invest position us well to benefit from the ongoing transformations in research and education.

“We will continue to invest in the success of our customers in critical areas such as open access publishing, researcher and student productivity, classroom-to-career pathways and workforce reskilling and upskilling. We are also investing in business optimization and operational excellence across the organization, which will result in improved speed, agility, and effectiveness.”