Finance

Publishing industry sales couldn't keep up the pace in April, with all segments of the business but higher education suffering declines in the month.

With results down in fiscal 2023, Wiley announced that it will offload non-core assets in fiscal 2024 and focus on its research and learning groups.

Total publishing industry sales rose by 6.6% in March over a year ago—enough to precipitate a 3.2% bump in sales for the first quarter of 2023.

Helped by expansion into non-consumer markets as well as overseas, sales and earnings at the U.K.-based publisher both rose 15% in fiscal 2023, with revenue in the U.S. topping $150 million.

A 16% increase in sales in the pre-K–12 educational materials segment helped to counter declines in the other major categories, resulting in total publishing sales of $28.1 billion in 2022, the Association of American Publishers reported.

Educational Development Corp., whose business soared during the pandemic, continues to struggle to find a firm financial footing in the new normal.

Gains in religious and higher educational publishing offset dips in the trade segments in February, resulting in a 0.2% sales gain for the 1,240 publishers that report sales to AAP's StatShot program.

After falling 12% in the six-month period ended December 31, 2022, sales steadied at $515 million at HarperCollins in the quarter ended March 31, 2023, though earnings fell again, dropping 9%.

Sales rose 19% and earnings were up 16% at Simon & Schuster in the first quarter, and executives at parent company Paramount Global said there is a possibility the sale of the publisher could be completed this year.

The stock price of Chegg, the online learning platform for university students, fell 48% Tuesday, after its CEO reported that a spike in interest by students in ChatGPT resulted in lower than expected results in the first quarter.