News

Sales, Earnings Up at Wiley, Millbrook
-- 12/13/99

Boosted by its recent acquisitions, John Wiley & Sons reported stellar results for the second quarter ended October 31. Sales in the period rose 22% to $123.5 million, while net earnings jumped 52% to $14.1 million. Excluding acquisitions, sales were up 8%. The largest gain came in Wiley's domestic college segment in which sales rose 44%, aided by the addition of titles acquired from Pearson Educational Publishing Group. The purchase of Jossey-Bass contributed to a 31% gain in sales in the professional/trade group. The 11% gain in domestic STM revenues was led by Wiley's journals program.

Company president William Pesce said the recent acquisitions have exceeded the company's expectations and that Wiley is accelerating its migration to the digital world. The company is expanding its Web-based service, Wiley InterScience, and has recently added staff to the service's dedicated sales force. In the professional/trade area, Pesce told PW Wiley is developing more print and electronic publishing packages in such areas as computing, accounting, finance and psychology, noting that all of Wiley's major college titles have a technology component.

For the first half of fiscal 2000, Wiley's net income was up 38% to $27.4 million, and revenues were ahead 17% to $287.3 million.

First-quarter sales at Millbrook Press rose 8% to $5.2 million, and net income increased to $489,000 from $305,000. Millbrook reported that the revenue gains came in both its library and consumer units.