Springer Nature (SPG) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved underlying revenue growth of 6% and profit growth of 9% year-over-year for the first nine months of 2024, confirming the full-year outlook.

• Revenue growth was primarily driven by strong performance in the Research segment, especially journals and open access.

• Technology and AI initiatives contributed to operational efficiency and value creation.

• Marked the milestone of publishing over 1 million SDG-related articles and book chapters since 2015, progressing toward half of primary research articles open access in 2024.

Financial highlights

• Revenue for 9M 2024 was €1,369 million, down 1.1% reported but up 5.7% underlying year-over-year.

• Adjusted operating profit was €379 million, stable year-over-year, with underlying growth of 8.8%.

• Group margin improved to 28.5% from 27.7% in 9M 2023.

• Free cash flow increased to €72 million from €55 million in 9M 2023.

• Financial leverage reduced to 2.5x pro-forma after €200 million IPO proceeds.

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2024 revenue expected between €1,820 million and €1,850 million; adjusted operating profit between €505 million and €520 million.

• Mid-term: research segment to outperform market by ~1% p.a. assuming 3.0–3.5% market growth.

• Adjusted operating profit margin expected to rise by ~100 bps mid-term.

• Dividend policy: €25 million for 2024, ~50% of adjusted net income payout in following years.

• Outlook confirmed based on strong Research segment performance.