Wiley Releases Q2 2014 Earnings, Digital Book Revenue Up 40%

John Wiley and Sons announced their Q2 2014 earnings today.

Resources

• Earnings News Release

• Financial: Conference Call Slides (PDF)

• Full Text Transcript (including Q&A) of Conference Call (via SeekingAlpha)

Highlights from Earnings Report

• Adjusted revenue of $449 million, up 8% over prior year on a constant currency basis

• Adjusted revenue change by segment on a constant currency basis and excluding the divested consumer publishing programs: Research +2%, Professional Development +7%, and Education +30%

• Digital book revenue across the three segments (Research, Professional Development, and Education) increased 40% to $31.4 million.

• Journal subscription revenue of  $164 million, up 2% over prior year and 3% year-to-date on a constant currency basis

Research Division Highlights

• Second quarter revenue on a constant currency basis rose 2% to $252.9 million due to journal subscription growth (+2%), digital book sales (+45%) and open access fees, which contributed $2.1 million of incremental revenue over the prior year period.  Partially offsetting this growth was a 10% decline in print book revenue.  For the first six months, revenue on a constant currency basis grew 4%, with journal subscription revenue up 3%. 

• Two new society journals were signed in the quarter with combined annual revenue of $7.8 million; 13 were renewed worth approximately $10.5 million in annual revenue; and none were lost.  

Education Division Highlights

•  Second quarter revenue on a constant currency basis grew 30% to $103.7 million, driven by the contribution from Deltak (+$16.5 million) and growth in digital books (+55%), binder and custom products (+40%), and the WileyPLUS course management solution (+26%).  For the first six months, Education revenue overall increased 22% (to $184.8 million) on a constant currency basis primarily due to the contribution of Deltak (+$31.3 million).  Contributing to second quarter growth was the favorable impact of later ordering in the current year due to late semester starts in the US and the shift to digital formats, which pushed revenue into the second quarter. 

•  Deltak contributed $16.5 million of revenue in the quarter. The Company signed the McCombs School of Business Foundation at University of Texas at Austin during the quarter, bringing the total number of institutions under contract to 34.  As of October 31, 2013, Deltak had 107 programs generating revenue and 43 programs under contract and in development but not yet generating revenue.

• Deltak and Purdue University have partnered in the launch of Purdue NExT, online course offerings available globally that focus on upper- level engineering, science, and technology disciplines. The courses are marketed to three distinct markets: individuals looking to enhancing their skills and job prospects; institutions looking to augment their scientific and engineering curriculum content; and businesses looking to raise employee skill levels in key engineering disciplines.

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