Wolters Kluwer N.v. · EURONEXT:WKL
Wolters Kluwer — H1 2025 Earnings Presentation
28 slides from Wolters Kluwer's earnings presentation, Aug 30, 2025
Slide 1: Wolters Kluwer 2025 Half-Year Results
Wolters Kluwer 2025 Half-Year Results Nancy McKinstry, CEO Kevin Entricken, CFO July 30, 2025 2025 Half-Year Results 1
Slide 2: Forward-looking statements
Forward-looking statements This presentation contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect", "should", "could", "shall", and similar expressions. Wolters Kluwer cautions that such forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncerta
Slide 3: Agenda
Agenda • Introduction • Financial Review • Operating and Strategic Review • Outlook 2025 2025 Half-Year Results 3
Slide 4: Introduction
Introduction Organic growth 5%; strong start on profitability; progress on strategic priorities Financial Results Strategic and ESG Progress Accelerate Organic growth +5% Expert solutions up +6% Expert organically, 59% of revenues Solutions Adjusted operating profit margin 28.4%, up 190bps Recurring
Slide 5: Agenda
Agenda • Introduction • Financial Review • Operating and Strategic Review • Outlook 2025 2025 Half-Year Results 5
Slide 6: First-half 2025 results
First-half 2025 results Organic growth 5%; margin up 190 basis points; diluted adjusted EPS up 14% and adjusted free cash flow up 13% in constant currencies; ROIC increased (€ million, unless otherwise stated) HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG Revenues 3,052 2,891 +6% +6% +5% Adjusted operating profit 865
Slide 7: Revenues by division
Revenues by division Organic growth 5%, with all divisions delivering positive organic growth (€ million) HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG Health 788 771 +2% +3% +4% Tax & Accounting 837 775 +8% +9% +6% Financial & Corporate Compliance* 635 600 +6% +6% +4% Legal & Regulatory 487 458 +6% +6% +6% Corporate
Slide 8: Revenues by type
Revenues by type Digital and services subscriptions up 7% organically; non-recurring revenues turned down Organic Growth (%) Organic Growth (%) Recurring Revenue Types (84% of total) Non-recurring Revenue Types (16% of total) 15% 77% of total 15% revenue 10% 8% 8% 8% 8% 8% 10% 7% 7% 5% 5% 0% 0% -5%
Slide 9: Adjusted operating profit by division
Adjusted operating profit by division Margin increased 190 basis points, driven by mix shift towards expert solutions and initiatives to manage discretionary expenses and drive long term efficiencies Margin (€ million) HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG HY 2025 HY 2024 Health 260 223 +17% +17% +15% 33.0% 2
Slide 10: Adjusted net profit and EPS
Adjusted net profit and EPS Adjusted EPS up 14% in constant currencies. Increase in net financing costs and tax rate offset by 3% reduction in diluted weighted average shares (€ million, unless otherwise stated) HY 2025 HY 2024 ∆ ∆ CC Revenues 3,052 2,891 +6% +6% Adjusted operating profit 865 765 +1
Slide 11: Adjusted free cash flow
Adjusted free cash flow Adjusted free cash flow up 13% in constant currencies, mainly reflecting increase in adjusted operating profit and higher cash conversion (€ million, unless otherwise stated) HY 2025 HY 2024 ∆ ∆ CC Adjusted operating profit 865 765 +13% +14% Depreciation, amortization, and im
Slide 12: Movement in net debt
Movement in net debt Increased acquisition spending; Net-debt-to-EBITDA remains within our target range 1.5x-2.5x (€ million, unless otherwise stated) HY 2025 FY 2024 HY 2024 Net debt at start of period (3,134) (2,612) (2,612) Adjusted free cash flow 505 1,276 445 Dividends paid (297) (521) (276) Ac
Slide 13: Dividends and share buybacks
Dividends and share buybacks 2025 interim dividend €0.93; over 60% of intended up to €1 billion share buyback already completed as of July 30 Dividend per Share (€) Share Buybacks (€ million) Total 2.33 dividend Completed Intended 2.08 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1.81 1.57 1.36 637 410 350 Interim 0.83
Slide 14: Results summary
Results summary Organic growth in line with expectations, driven by recurring revenues; strong margin expansion; solid balance sheet Organic growth Adjusted operating Diluted adjusted EPS +5% profit margin up +14% in constant 28.4% up 190bps currencies ROIC increased to 18.5% Adjusted FCF Solid bala
Slide 15: Agenda
Agenda • Introduction • Financial Review • Operating and Strategic Review • Outlook 2025 2025 Half-Year Results 15
Slide 16: Health
Health Organic growth +4%, led by Clinical Solutions +6%. Margin reflects ongoing mix shift, expense management, and efficiency programs € million HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG Clinical Solutions • Organic growth +6% Revenues 788 771 +2% +3% +4% • Slowdown due to timing of renewals, leap year Adjusted
Slide 17: Tax & Accounting
Tax & Accounting Organic growth +6%, with recurring revenues up +7%. Margin reflects expense management, partly offset by increased investment € million HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG Tax & Accounting North America • Organic growth +6%, led by double-digit Revenues 837 775 +8% +9% +6% organic growth in
Slide 18: Financial & Corporate Compliance
Financial & Corporate Compliance Organic growth +4%, supported by 6% growth in recurring revenues. Margin reflects increased investment, partly offset by expense management € million HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG Legal Services (LS) • Organic growth +6%, driven by +8% growth in Revenues 635 600 +6% +6
Slide 19: Legal & Regulatory
Legal & Regulatory Organic growth +6%, with digital information solutions up +7%. Margin reflects mix shift, expense management, and efficiency programs Legal & Regulatory Information Solutions € million HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG • Organic growth +6%, driven by digital Revenues 487 458 +6% +6% +6%
Slide 20: Corporate Performance & ESG
Corporate Performance & ESG Organic growth +7%, driven by recurring cloud software up +17%. Margin reflects sustained investment in product development, sales, and marketing € million HY 2025 HY 2024 Δ Δ CC Δ OG EHS & ESG3 • Organic growth +10%, with recurring cloud Revenues 305 287 +6% +7% +7% soft
Slide 21: Strategic priorities 2025-2027
Strategic priorities 2025-2027 Expert solutions strategy aims to deliver good organic growth with improvement in margins and returns Accelerate innovation with • Drive penetration of cloud-based expert solutions product development spend of Scale around 11% of revenues1 • Empower customer workflows
Slide 22: Major product suites now offer GenAI features
Major product suites now offer GenAI features Majority of our digital revenues – expert solutions and information products – are AI-enabled HY 2025 Total Revenues Selected GenAI-Enabled Examples • UpToDate Enterprise • CCH Tagetik Intelligent Platform Services & Print • Ovid Guidelines AI • CCH Tage
Slide 23: Agentic AI
Agentic AI Investing in agentic AI, with several agentic solutions currently in development or customer testing – underpinned by our proprietary AI-Enablement Platform Agentic AI Developments DL Wolters Kluwer CP & ESG Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting CCH Tagetik Intelligent Platform CCH Axcess – age
Slide 24: Portfolio changes
Portfolio changes RASi and Brightflag expand our positions in the higher growth mid-size corporate segment. FRR divestment gives FCC greater focus Financial & Corporate Compliance Legal & Regulatory Financial & Corporate Compliance Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR) • Completed March 13, 202
Slide 25: Agenda
Agenda • Introduction • Financial Review • Operating and Strategic Review • Outlook 2025 2025 Half-Year Results 25
Slide 26: Full-year 2025 outlook
Full-year 2025 outlook Improved outlook for margin in reporting currency and EPS growth in constant currency; ROIC now expected to be around 18% in reporting currency Performance indicators 2025 Guidance Previous Guidance 2024 Actual Adjusted operating profit margin* 27.1%-27.5% 27.1%-27.5% 27.1% Ad
Slide 27: Divisional outlook 2025
Divisional outlook 2025 Margin increase to be supported by most divisions Division FY 2025 Organic Growth Outlook Organic growth to be in line with or slightly below prior year Health (FY 2024: 6%) Tax & Accounting Organic growth to be in line with prior year (FY 2024: 7%) Organic growth to be below
Slide 28: Q&A
Q&A Nancy McKinstry Kevin Entricken CEO & Chair of CFO & Member of Executive Board Executive Board 2025 Half-Year Results 28