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Item 1.
Business
The Company, founded in 1807, was incorporated in the state of New York on January 15, 1904. (As used herein the term “Company” means John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, unless the context indicates otherwise.)
The Company is a global publisher of print and electronic products, providing content and digital solutions to customers worldwide. Core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, encyclopedias, books, online products and services; professional and consumer books, subscription products, certification and training materials, online applications and websites; and educational materials in all media, including integrated online teaching and learning resources, for undergraduate, graduate and advanced placement students, educators, and lifelong learners worldwide as well as secondary school students in Australia. The Company takes full advantage of its content from all three core businesses in developing and cross-marketing products to its diverse customer base of professionals, consumers, researchers, students, and educators. The use of technology enables the Company to make its content more accessible to its customers around the world. The Company maintains publishing, marketing, and distribution centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Further description of the Company’s business is incorporated herein by reference in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of this 10-K.
Employees
As of April 30, 2011, the Company employed approximately 5,100 persons on a full-time equivalent basis worldwide.
Financial Information About Industry Segments
The note entitled “Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of this 10-K, both listed in the attached index, are incorporated herein by reference.
Financial Information About Foreign and Domestic Operations and Export Sales
The note entitled “Segment Information” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of this 10-K, both listed in the attached index, are incorporatedherein by reference.
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this Form 10-K, including the following risk factors, before deciding to invest in any of the Company’s securities. The risks below are not the only ones the Company faces. Additional risks not currently known to the Company or that the Company presently deems immaterial may also impair its business operations. The Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks.
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Cautionary Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This 10-K and our Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ending April 30, 2011 contain certain forward-looking statements concerning the Company’s operations, performance and financial condition. In addition, the Company provides forward-looking statements in other materials released to the public as well as oral forward-looking information. Statements which contain the words anticipate, expect, believes, estimate, project, forecast, plan, outlook, intend and similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements.
Any such forward-looking statements are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, and are subject to change based on many important factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to (i) the level of investment in new technologies and products; (ii) subscriber renewal rates for the Company’s journals; (iii) the financial stability and liquidity of journal subscription agents; (iv) the consolidation of book wholesalers and retail accounts; (v) the market position and financial stability of key retailers; (vi) the impact of the used-book market; (vii) worldwide economic and political conditions; and (viii) the Company’s ability to protect its copyrights and other intellectual property worldwide (ix) other factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Operating Costs and Expenses
In general, any significant increase in the costs of goods and services provided to the Company may adversely affect the Company’s costs of operation. The Company has a significant investment, and cost, in its employee base around the world. The Company offers competitive salaries and benefits in order to attract and retain the highly skilled workforce needed to sustain and develop new products and services required for growth. Employment and benefit costs are affected by competitive market conditions for qualified individuals, and factors such as healthcare, pension and retirement benefits costs. The Company is a large paper purchaser, and paper prices may fluctuate significantly from time-to-time. To reduce the impact of paper price increases, the Company relies upon multiple suppliers. The Company from time-to-time may hedge the exposure to fluctuations in price by entering into multi-year supply contracts. As of April 30, 2011, there were no outstanding multi-year supply contracts.
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Substantially all of the Company’s publications are protected by copyright, held either in the Company’s name, in the name of the author of the work, or in the name of the sponsoring professional society. Such copyrights protect the Company’s exclusive right to publish the work in many countries abroad for specified periods, in most cases the author’s life plus 70 years, but in any event a minimum of 50 years for works published after 1978. The ability of the Company to continue to achieve its expected results depends, in part, upon the Company’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights. The Company’s results may be adversely affected by lack of legal and/or technological protections for its intellectual property in some jurisdictions and markets.
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The Scientific, Technical, Medical and Scholarly (“STMS”) publishing industry generates much of its revenue from paid customer subscriptions to print and online journal content. There is debate within the academic and government communities whether such journal content should be made available for free, immediately or following a period of embargo after publication. For instance, certain governments are considering mandating that all publications containing information derived from government-funded research be made available to the public at no cost. These mandates have the potential to put pressure on subscription-based publications and favor business models funded by author fees or government and private subsidies. If such regulations are widely implemented, the Company’s operating results could be adversely affected.
Maintaining the Company’s Reputation
Professionals worldwide rely upon many of the Company’s publications to perform their jobs. It is imperative that the Company consistently demonstrates its ability to maintain the integrity of the information included in its publications. Adverse publicity, whether or not valid, may reduce demand for the Company’s publications.
Trade Concentration and Credit Risk
In the journal publishing business, subscription payments are primarily handled through independent journal subscription agents who, acting as agents for library customers, facilitate payment by consolidating the subscription orders/billings of each subscriber with various publishers. Cash is generally collected in advance from subscribers by the subscription agent and is remitted to the journal publisher, including the Company, generally prior to the commencement of the subscription. Although at fiscal year-end the Company had minimal credit risk exposure to these agents, future calendar-year subscription receipts from these agents are highly dependent on their financial condition and liquidity. Subscription agents account for approximately 23% of total annual consolidated revenue and no one agent accounts for more than 10% of total annual consolidated revenue.
The Company’s business is not dependent upon a single customer; however, the book industry is concentrated in national, regional, and online bookstore chains. Although no one book customer accounts for more than 7% of consolidated revenue, the top 10 book customers account for approximately 18% of total consolidated revenue and approximately 44% of accounts receivable, before reserves at April 30, 2011.
Changes in Regulation and Accounting Standards
The Company maintains publishing, marketing and distribution centers in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. The conduct of our business, including the sourcing of content, distribution, sales, marketing and advertising is subject to various laws and regulations administered by governments around the world. Changes in laws, regulations or government policies, including tax regulations and accounting standards, may adversely affect the Company’s future financial results.
Introduction of New Technologies, Products and Services
The Company must continue to invest in technological and other innovations to adapt and add value to its products and services and remain competitive. There are uncertainties whenever developing new products and services, and it is often possible that such new products and services may not be launched or if launched, may not be profitable or as profitable as existing products and services.
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A common trend facing each of the Company’s businesses is the digitization of content and proliferation of distribution channels, either over the internet, or via other electronic means, replacing traditional print formats. The trend to ebooks has also created contraction in the print book retail market which increases the risk of bankruptcy for certain retail customers, potentially leading to the disruption of short-term product supply to the market as well as potential bad debt write-offs. New distribution channels, such as digital formats, the internet, online retailers and growing delivery platforms (e.g. e-readers), present both threats and opportunities to the Company’s traditional consumer publishing models, potentially impacting both sales volumes and pricing.
Information Technology Risks
Information technology is a key part of the Company’s business strategy and operations. As a business strategy, Wiley’s publishing technology enables the Company to provide customers with new and enhanced products and services and is critical to the Company’s success in migrating from print to digital business models. Information technology is also a fundamental component of all our business processes; collecting and reporting business data; and communicating internally and externally with customers, suppliers, employees and others.
Information technology system failures, network disruptions and breaches of data security could significantly disrupt the operations of the Company. Management has designed and implemented policies, processes and controls to mitigate risks of information technology failure and to provide security from unauthorized access to our systems. In addition, the Company has in place disaster recovery plans to maintain business continuity. While the Company has taken steps to address these risks, there can be no assurance that a system failure, disruption or data security breach would not adversely affect the Company’s business and operating results.