Wolters Kluwer 2021 Full-Year Results Page 1 of 37
Wolters Kluwer 2021 Full-Year Report
February 23, 2022 – Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information, software
solutions, and services, today releases its full-year 2021 results.
Highlights
? Revenues €4,771 million, up 6% in constant currencies and up 6% organically.
?
Recurring revenues up 6% organically (80% of total revenues); non-recurring up 6% organically.
?
Digital & services revenues up 7% organically (92% of total revenues); print down 4% organically.
?
Expert solutions revenues up 6% organically (55% of total revenues).
? Adjusted operating profit €1,205 million, up 11% in constant currencies.
?
Adjusted operating profit margin up 90 basis points to 25.3%.
?
Margin benefitted from operational gearing, lower restructuring costs, net positive one-time
items, and savings on travel and other expenses curtailed during the pandemic.
? Diluted adjusted EPS €3.38, up 17% in constant currencies, partly reflecting a lower tax rate.
? Adjusted free cash flow €1,010 million, up 15% in constant currencies.
? Balance sheet remains strong: net-debt-to-EBITDA 1.4x.
? Return on invested capital improved to 13.7%.
? Proposed 2021 total dividend: €1.57 per share, an increase of 15%.
? Share buybacks: completed €410 million in 2021; intend to repurchase up to €600 million in
2022 (of which €50 million already completed).
? Outlook 2022: expect good organic growth and improved adjusted operating profit margin, with
the increase in adjusted diluted EPS to be dampened by a return to our historical tax rate.
Full-Year Report of the Executive Board
Nancy McKinstry, CEO and Chair of the Executive Board, commented: “Accelerated organic growth
in recurring digital and services revenues combined with a recovery in non-recurring revenue streams
produced strong results. We remained focused on employees and customers during this second year of
the pandemic and made progress on key sustainability goals. Our new three-year strategy, Elevate our
Value, builds on the previous plan and strengthens our focus on cloud-based expert solutions.”
Key Figures – Year ended December 31
€ million (unless otherwise stated) 2021 2020 ? ? CC ? OG
Business performance – benchmark figures
Revenues 4,771 4,603 +4% +6% +6%
Adjusted operating profit 1,205 1,124 +7% +11% +10%
Adjusted operating profit margin 25.3% 24.4%
Adjusted net profit 885 835 +6% +15%
Diluted adjusted EPS (€) 3.38 3.13 +8% +17%
Adjusted free cash flow 1,010 907 +11% +15%
Return on invested capital (ROIC) 13.7% 12.3%
Net debt 2,131 2,383 -11%
IFRS reported results
Revenues 4,771 4,603 +4%
Operating profit 1,012 972 +4%
Profit for the year 728 721 +1%
Diluted EPS (€) 2.78 2.70 +3%
Net cash from operating activities 1,292 1,197 +8%
?: % Change; ? CC: % Change in constant currencies (€/$ 1.14); ? OG: % Organic growth. Benchmark figures are performance
measures used by management. See Note 3 for a reconciliation from IFRS to benchmark figures.

Wolters Kluwer 2021 Full-Year Results Page 2 of 37
Full-Year 2022 Outlook
Our specific guidance for FY2022 adjusted operating profit margin, adjusted free cash flow, return on
invested capital (ROIC), and diluted adjusted EPS is provided below. We expect good organic growth,
albeit slower than in 2021 due to challenging comparables starting in the second quarter. We expect
the adjusted operating profit margin to ease in the first half but to rise for the full year 2022. We
expect growth in diluted adjusted EPS to be dampened by a return to our historical tax rate.
Full-Year 2022 Outlook
Performance indicators 2022 Guidance 2021
Adjusted operating profit
margin
25.5%- 26.0% 25.3%
Adjusted free cash flow €1,025-1,075 million €1,010 million
ROIC Around 14% 13.7%
Diluted adjusted EPS Mid-single-digit growth €3.38
Guidance for adjusted operating profit margin and ROIC is in reported currencies and assumes an average EUR/USD rate in
2022 of €/$1.13. Guidance for adjusted free cash flow and diluted adjusted EPS is in constant currencies (€/$ 1.18). Guidance
reflects share repurchases for up to €600 million in 2022.
If current exchange rates persist, the U.S. dollar rate will have a positive effect on 2022 results
reported in euros. In 2021, Wolters Kluwer generated more than 60% of its revenues and adjusted operating profit in North America. As a rule of thumb, based on our 2021 currency profile, each 1 U.S.
cent move in the average €/$ exchange rate for the year causes an opposite change of approximately 2 euro cents in diluted adjusted EPS1.
We include restructuring costs in adjusted operating profit. We currently expect that restructuring costs will increase to our normal range of €10-€15 million (FY 2021: €6 million). We expect adjusted net financing costs of approximately €65 million in constant currencies2, including lease interest charges. We expect the benchmark tax rate on adjusted pre-tax profits to increase to approximately 23.0%-24.0% (FY 2021: 21.5%). Capital expenditure is expected to be within our normal range of 5.0%- 6.0% of total revenues (FY 2021: 5.0%). We expect the full-year cash conversion ratio to be in the range of 100%-105% (FY 2021: 112%)3. See Note 3 for the calculation of our cash conversion ratio.
Any guidance we provide assumes no additional significant change to the scope of operations. We may make further acquisitions or disposals which can be dilutive to margins and earnings in the near term.

2022 Outlook by Division
Health: We expect organic growth to slow from 2021 levels, mainly due to the absence of a contract win of the size of the ASCO titles. We expect the adjusted operating profit margin to improve modestly.
Tax & Accounting: We expect organic growth to improve slightly from 2021 levels and the adjusted operating profit margin to improve.
Governance, Risk & Compliance: We expect organic growth to slow from 2021 levels, due to slower growth in transactional revenues. We expect the adjusted operating profit margin to improve.
Legal & Regulatory: We expect organic growth to be in line with 2021. The adjusted operating profit margin is expected to decline due to the absence of the one-off pension amendment recorded in 2021.


1 This rule of thumb excludes the impact of exchange rate movements on intercompany balances, which is accounted for in
adjusted net financing costs in reported currencies and determined based on period-end spot rates and balances.
2 Guidance for adjusted net financing costs in constant currencies excludes the impact of exchange rate movements on currency
hedging and intercompany balances.
3 Cash repayments of lease liabilities are expected to be in line with depreciation of right-of-use assets (FY 2021: €71 million).

Our Mission, Business Model and Strategy
Our mission is to empower our professional customers with the information, software solutions, and .services they need to make critical decisions, achieve successful outcomes, and save time. We support professionals across four main customer segments: health; tax & accounting; governance, risk & compliance; and legal & regulatory. Every day, our customers face the challenge of increasing proliferation and complexity of information and the pressure to deliver better outcomes at a lower cost. Many of our customers are looking for mobility, flexibility, intuitive interfaces, and integrated open architecture technology to support their decision-making. We aim to solve their problems and add value to their workflow with our range of digital solutions and services, which we continuously evolve to meet their changing needs.
Our expert solutions combine deep domain knowledge with technology to deliver both content and workflow automation to drive improved outcomes and productivity for our customers. Expert solutions, which include nearly all of our software products and certain advanced information solutions, accounted for 55% of total revenues in 2021 (FY 2020: 54%). Based on revenues, our largest expert solutions by division are:
? Health: global clinical decision support tool UpToDate; clinical drug databases Medi-Span and
Lexicomp; and Lippincott nursing solutions for practice and learning.
? Tax & Accounting: global corporate performance solution CCH Tagetik (now including Vanguard Software); global corporate internal audit platform TeamMate; professional tax and accounting software, including CCH ProSystem fx and CCH Axcess in North America and similar software for professionals across Europe.
? Governance, Risk & Compliance: finance, risk, and regulatory reporting suite OneSumX; banking
compliance solutions ComplianceOne, Expere, eOriginal, and Gainskeeper; and enterprise legal management software Passport and TyMetrix.
? Legal & Regulatory: global EHS/ORM4 suite Enablon, and our range of workflow solutions for European legal professionals, including Kleos and Legisway.

see & read more on
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/news/wolters-kluwer-2021-full-year-report

tijd 09.03
De AEX licht hoger naar 733.72 +1.76 +0.24% Wolters EUR 88,42 +2,02 vol. 18.182