Wolters Kluwer reports healthy half-year revenue; attributes 50% to AI tools

By Gloria Methri

Information Services Technology company Wolters Kluwer has reported revenues of €2,725 million in the first half of 2023, with a 7% organic increase in recurring revenues. The Dutch firm has reiterated its guidance for 2023’s adjusted operating profit margin to improve further.

“We delivered 6% organic growth as continued strong momentum in recurring revenues more than offset the anticipated downturn in non-recurring revenue streams. Operating costs and margins developed as expected and we remain confident of delivering a full-year margin improvement,” said Nancy McKinstry, CEO and Chair of the Executive Board, Wolters Kluwer.

In March the company formed a new division, Corporate Performance & ESG (CP & ESG) to meet the demand from banks for integrated financial, operational, and ESG performance management and reporting solutions. The announcement followed full-year results for the company, with 2022 annual revenues touching almost €5.5 billion.

The new division comprises four global software units: Corporate Performance (CCH Tagetik; including U.S. Corporate Tax); EHS/ORM Software (Enablon); Internal Audit Solutions (TeamMate) and Finance, Risk & Reporting (FRR). The company said that combining these assets will allow it to accelerate synergies and leverage its global strengths to pursue a growing market opportunity. Today’s half-year results show 10% organic growth for the division.

“We made important progress towards our strategic goals and are excited about pursuing growth opportunities across the business. Around 50% of our digital revenues are from products that leverage AI and we see generative AI as another powerful tool to drive value for our customers,” McKinstry added.

Paul Lyon, London-based Senior Director of External Communications at Wolters Kluwer, confirmed that the company is continuing to invest, with “typically 10% of revenues devoted to product development and innovation each year. A growing portion of this investment has been devoted to embedding traditional AI tools into our products. “