Upcoming AWS Coverage on John Wiley & Sons Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 6, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL). The Company announced its third quarter fiscal 2017 financial results on March 23, 2017. The publishing, education and media Company affirmed its FY17 outlook. Register with us now for your free membership at:

http://www.activewallst.com/register/

One of Scholastic's competitors within the Publishing - Books space, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JW-A), reported on March 07, 2017, its financial results for Q3 FY17, ending January 03, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on JW-A in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on SCHL; touching on JW-A. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/register/

Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended February 28, 2017, Scholastic's revenue was $336.2 million, down 8% compared to $366.0 million a year ago same period.

Scholastic's operating loss for Q3 FY17 year 2017 increased to $23.6 million compared to an operating loss of $16.4 million in the prior year comparable period. The third quarter is a lower revenue quarter for the Company where it typically records a loss.

Scholastic reported Q3 FY17 loss per share from continuing operations of $0.45 versus a loss of $0.21 in the prior year's same period. The results for Q3 FY17 and Q3 FY16 reflect one-time expenses of $0.09 per share and $0.15 per share, respectively. Excluding these one-time items, the Company's loss per share from continuing operations was $0.36 in the reported quarter versus $0.06 in the prior year's corresponding period.

Cash Flow and Cash Position

Scholastic's net cash provided by operating activities was $39.2 million in Q3 FY17 compared to $26.4 million in Q3 FY16, an increase of $12.8 million. During the reported quarter, the Company generated free cash flow of $16.6 million compared to $9.6 million in the prior year's comparable period. At quarter-end, cash and cash equivalents exceeded Scholastic's total debt by $456.0 million compared to $343.7 million a year ago. The Company distributed $5.2 million in dividends during the reported quarter.

Fiscal 2017 Outlook

Scholastic affirmed its FY17 outlook for total revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $1.60 to $1.70, excluding one-time items. The Company continues to expect free cash flow in the range of $40 million to $50 million.

Segment Results

During Q3 FY17, Scholastic's Children's Book Publishing and Distribution segment's revenue was $199.0 million, down 9% compared to $219.8 million in the prior year's same period. The decline in revenue resulted from lower orders and reduced sales of media titles in clubs, as well as a significant decline in adult coloring book sales in trade and, as planned by the Company, fewer book fairs held in the reported quarter. Overall, the segment's operating income was $6.3 million in the reported quarter, versus $8.2 million in Q3 FY16, a decline of $1.9 million.

Scholastic's Education segment's revenue in Q3 FY17 declined 6% to $60.1 million compared to $63.9 million in Q3 FY16, primarily as a result of lower sales of classroom books, where the pipeline has shifted to Q4, partially offset by higher professional development and services revenue. The segment's operating income was $3.5 million in the reported quarter compared to an operating loss of $2.4 million in the prior year's same period, which included non-cash pre-tax charges of $6.9 million for the write-down of certain legacy prepublication assets.

For Q3 FY17, Scholastic's International segment's revenue was $77.1 million compared to $82.3 million in the prior year's same period. Excluding the foreign exchange translation impact of $1.3 million in the reported quarter, revenue was $78.4 million, down 5%. Lower sales in the Company's major markets, where the Company's exit from a low margin software distribution business in Australia reduced revenues by $4.9 million in the reported quarter, were partially offset by revenue gains in Asia and export. The segment recorded an operating loss in the quarter of $3.9 million, including a one-time pre-tax charge of $0.5 million related to the wind-down of the software distribution business in Australia, compared to an operating loss of $1.7 million in Q3 FY16, which included $0.2 million of one-time expenses for restructuring severance.

Scholastic's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share on the Company's Class A and Common Stock for Q4 FY17. The dividend is payable on June 15, 2017, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 28, 2017.

Scholastic entered into a new 5-year $375 million committed credit agreement with a syndicate of banks in place of a credit agreement that was set to expire in December 2017. The new agreement has substantially similar terms and conditions but allows for an increase in the Company's capacity for dividends and other distributions in respect of its capital stock.

Stock Performance

At the closing bell, on Wednesday, April 05, 2017, Scholastic's share price finished yesterday's trading session at $42.20, slightly down 0.75%. A total volume of 143.28 thousand shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months average volume of 128.85 thousand shares. The stock has advanced 10.81% and 17.20% in the last six months and past twelve months, respectively. Furthermore, the stock is trading at a PE ratio of 31.61 and has a dividend yield of 1.42%. At Wednesday's closing price, the stock's net capitalization stands at $1.45 billion.

Active Wall Street:

Active Wall Street (AWS) produces regular sponsored and non-sponsored reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and micro-cap stocks. AWS has two distinct and independent departments. One department produces non-sponsored analyst certified content generally in the form of press releases, articles and reports covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and the other produces sponsored content (in most cases not reviewed by a registered analyst), which typically consists of compensated investment newsletters, articles and reports covering listed stocks and micro-caps. Such sponsored content is outside the scope of procedures detailed below.

AWS has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.

PRESS RELEASE PROCEDURES:

The non-sponsored content contained herein has been prepared by a writer (the "Author") and is fact checked and reviewed by a third party research service company (the "Reviewer") represented by a credentialed financial analyst, for further information on analyst credentials, please email info@activewallst.com. Rohit Tuli, a CFA® charterholder (the "Sponsor"), provides necessary guidance in preparing the document templates. The Reviewer has reviewed and revised the content, as necessary, based on publicly available information which is believed to be reliable. Content is researched, written and reviewed on a reasonable-effort basis. The Reviewer has not performed any independent investigations or forensic audits to validate the information herein. The Reviewer has only independently reviewed the information provided by the Author according to the procedures outlined by AWS. AWS is not entitled to veto or interfere in the application of such procedures by the third-party research service company to the articles, documents or reports, as the case may be. Unless otherwise noted, any content outside of this document has no association with the Author or the Reviewer in any way.

NO WARRANTY

AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer are not responsible for any error which may be occasioned at the time of printing of this document or any error, mistake or shortcoming. No liability is accepted whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of this document. AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer expressly disclaim any fiduciary responsibility or liability for any consequences, financial or otherwise arising from any reliance placed on the information in this document. Additionally, AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer do not (1) guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or correct sequencing of the information, or (2) warrant any results from use of the information. The included information is subject to change without notice.

NOT AN OFFERING

This document is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed, and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated disclosures and disclaimers in full before investing. Neither AWS nor any party affiliated with us is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with any agency or in any jurisdiction whatsoever. To download our report(s), read our disclosures, or for more information, visit http://www.activewallst.com/disclaimer/.

CONTACT

For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly. If you're a company we are covering and wish to no longer feature on our coverage list contact us via email and/or phone between 09:30 EDT to 16:00 EDT from Monday to Friday at:

Email: info@activewallst.com
Phone number: 1-858-257-3144

Office Address: 3rd floor, 207 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH, United Kingdom

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

SOURCE: Active Wall Street