Wolters Kluwer (WKL) H1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenues reached €3,052 million, up 6% in constant currencies and 5% organically, with 84% from recurring streams growing 7% organically.

• Adjusted operating profit rose 14% in constant currencies to €865 million, with margin up 190 bps to 28.4%.

• Diluted adjusted EPS increased 14% in constant currencies, and adjusted free cash flow grew 13% to €505 million.

• Strategic acquisitions (RASi, Brightflag, Inisoft, IntelliLearn) and divestment of Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting unit sharpened focus and expanded mid-market exposure.

• Major progress on cloud migration, AI integration, and expert solutions, supporting customer retention and new sales.

Financial highlights

• Recurring cloud software revenues grew 15% organically, now 21% of total revenues; recurring revenues (84% of total) grew 7% organically, while non-recurring revenues declined.

• Adjusted operating cash flow increased 19% to €738 million; cash conversion improved to 85%.

• Net interest paid more than doubled to €53 million due to new bond issuance; adjusted net financing costs rose to €38 million.

• Acquisition spending was €833 million, dividends paid €297 million, and share buybacks €509 million in the first half.

• Interim dividend set at €0.93 per share; over €637 million of share repurchases completed as of July 29, 2025.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year 2025 organic growth expected broadly in line with prior year; adjusted operating margin near top of 27.1%-27.5% range.

• Adjusted free cash flow guidance unchanged at €1.25–1.3 billion in constant currencies.

• Diluted adjusted EPS to grow mid- to high-single digits in constant currencies; ROIC expected around 18%.

• Restructuring costs forecast at €20–35 million; capex at 5.0%-6.0% of revenues; net financing costs €95-100 million.

• Division outlook: Health and Tax & Accounting to match prior year growth; Financial & Corporate Compliance below prior year; Corporate Performance & ESG above prior year.