Wolters Kluwer First-Quarter 2024 Trading Update Alphen aan den Rijn, May 1, 2024 – Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information, software solutions and services, today releases its first-quarter 2024 trading update. Highlights Full-year 2024 guidance reiterated. First-quarter revenues up 6% in constant currencies and up 6% organically. Recurring revenues (82%) up 7% organically; non-recurring revenues up 1% organically. Expert solutions revenues (59%) up 8% organically. Cloud software revenues (18%) up 16% organically. First-quarter adjusted operating profit margin increased. First-quarter adjusted free cash flow increased in constant currencies. Net debt-to-EBITDA was 1.4x as of March 31, 2024. 2024 share buyback: €353 million of intended share buyback of €1 billion completed in the year through April 29, 2024. Nancy McKinstry, CEO and Chair of the Executive Board, commented: "We've had a good start to the year, with 6% organic growth and improvements in the margin and free cash flow. We continued to invest in scaling our expert solutions, rolling out several new products, and expanding into adjacent markets. And, we are increasing our investment in deploying artificial intelligence to bring benefits to customers. I am pleased to reiterate our full-year guidance." First-quarter 2024 developments First-quarter revenues increased 5% in reporting currencies, reflecting organic growth of 6% (1Q 2023: 6%), slightly offset by the impact of currency due to the weaker U.S. dollar compared to a year ago (average EUR/USD rate was €/$1.09 in 1Q 2024 versus €/$1.07 in 1Q 2023). Recurring revenues (82% of revenues), which include subscriptions and other repeating revenue streams, sustained 7% organic growth (1Q 2023: 7%). Non-recurring revenues (18% of revenues) increased 1% organically, slowing slightly compared to a year ago (1Q 2023: 2%). Within non-recurring revenues, transactional revenues posted 3% organic growth (1Q 2023: 1% decline), as Financial & Corporate Compliance transactional trends started to stabilize and Legal & Regulatory transactional revenues (ELM Solutions) remained strong. Organic growth in software license and implementation fees and other non-recurring revenues slowed to 1% (1Q 2023: 2%). The adjusted operating profit margin increased in the first quarter compared to first quarter 2023. Health revenues increased 7% in constant currencies and 7% organically (1Q 2023: 5%). Clinical Solutions delivered 9% organic growth (1Q 2023: 6%), reflecting good renewal rates in clinical decision support and clinical drug information. Our referential drug data and patient engagement solutions (formerly Lexicomp and Emmi) were brought under the UpToDate brand. Health Learning, Research & Practice recorded 5% organic growth (1Q 2023: 3%), benefitting from new journal launches, including NEJM AI, a title focused on AI in Medicine. Tax & Accounting revenues increased 6% in constant currencies, with organic growth of 8% (pro forma 1Q 2023: 9%) partly offset by the transfer of our Chinese legal research solution Bold (2023 revenues: €21 million) to the Legal & Regulatory division. North American organic growth slowed to 8% as expected (pro forma 1Q 2023: 11%) partly due to the challenging comparable created by last year's tax guide publication schedule. Europe recorded a strong start to the year despite the absence of last year's one-time benefits in Germany and Spain. Asia Pacific & Rest of World grew 2% organically (1Q 2023: 7%) as print books turned down. Financial & Corporate Compliance revenues grew 4% in constant currencies and 4% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 2%). Recurring revenues increased 6% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 5%). Transactional and other non-recurring revenues began to stabilize (1% organic increase in 1Q 2024 compared to pro forma decline of 4% in 1Q 2023) but remain difficult to predict. Legal Services grew 4% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 2%), supported by sustained organic growth in service subscriptions alongside stable transactional revenues. Financial Services revenues grew 3% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 1%), supported by 4% organic growth in recurring revenues and a slight upturn in transactional revenues compared to decline a year ago. Legal & Regulatory revenues grew 8% in constant currencies and 5% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 4%), reflecting the transfer into the division of the Bold legal research solution from the Tax & Accounting division. Legal & Regulatory Information Solutions grew 4% organically (1Q 2023: 4%), with sustained growth in digital products more than offsetting decline in print. Legal & Regulatory Software revenues grew 6% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 5%), buoyed by sustained double-digit growth in volume-driven transactional revenues at ELM Solutions related to the on-boarding of new customers. Corporate Performance & ESG revenues grew 7% in constant currencies and 7% organically (pro forma 1Q 2023: 10%). Recurring revenues sustained double-digit organic growth, while non-recurring revenues declined in the quarter. Our EHS/ORM1 unit (Enablon) delivered 8% organic growth (1Q 2023: 22%), driven by double-digit growth in recurring cloud subscriptions partly offset by decline in non-recurring software license fees against a challenging comparable. The CCH Tagetik Corporate Performance Management (CPM) platform delivered 13% organic growth (1Q 2023: 16%), driven by Europe and Asia Pacific & ROW. Our corporate tax, internal audit (TeamMate), and Finance, Risk & Reporting (OneSumX) units all recorded low single-digit organic growth in the quarter. Cash flow and net debt First quarter cash conversion declined compared to first quarter 2023, as expected, due to a working capital outflow in the quarter compared ...