Moody’s upgrades Wolters Kluwer rating to A3
Alphen aan den Rijn —March 30, 2023 — Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) has upgraded Wolters Kluwer N.V.'s senior unsecured ratings to A3 from Baa1. The outlook on the ratings remains stable. Wolters Kluwer is a Dutch software solutions and services provider, with operations in more than 40 countries, employing approximately 20,000 professionals worldwide.
According to Moody’s, the upgrade reflects Wolters Kluwer’s “strong operating performance and credit metrics, as well as its improved business profile and resiliency to economic cycles.” The ratings agency noted that “the upgrade also reflects the corporate governance considerations associated with its track record in maintaining a conservative and predictable financial policy.”
Moody’s also noted that the A3 rating is “supported by the company's strong operating performance with steady organic revenue growth, driven by its focus on software and cloud-based solutions, as well as the progressive improvement of its business risk profile.”
The rating agency added that Wolters Kluwer “has consistently delivered positive and improving organic revenue growth since 2010. In 2022, Wolters Kluwer reported 6.2% organic revenue growth, higher than the 5.7% growth rate reported in 2021.”
Last month Wolters Kluwer announced that it had brought together four of its global enterprise software businesses to form a new division, Corporate Performance & ESG “to meet the growing demand from corporations and banks for integrated financial, operational, and ESG performance management and reporting solutions.” The news was announced as part of the company’s annual results, which saw revenues of €5,453 million for 2022.
The new division is comprised of these global software units: Corporate Performance (CCH Tagetik; including U.S. Corporate Tax); EHS/ORM Software (Enablon); Finance, Risk & Reporting and Internal Audit Solutions (TeamMate). “All four businesses serve global corporations and banks with cloud and on-premise solutions and have leading market positions in their specific areas of expertise,” the company said in a statement. “Combining these assets will allow Wolters Kluwer to accelerate synergies and leverage their combined global strengths to pursue a growing market opportunity.” The company also confirmed the division would be home to approximately 2,500 professionals globally.
Moody’s says the “stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the company's operating performance will continue to be solid, resulting in positive organic revenue growth and strong free cash flow generation.”