Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported revenue of €926 million for H1 2025, reflecting a 6% increase on an underlying basis and a 5% increase on a reported basis [30][32] - Adjusted operating profit (AOP) reached €241 million, with a 10% increase on an underlying basis and a 7% increase on a reported basis [30][34] - Free cash flow improved significantly by 51%, totaling over €200 million [6][35] - Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increased to €0.83 from €0.57 in H1 2024, marking a 46% year-on-year increase [31][39] Business Segment Data and Key Metrics Changes - The research segment generated underlying revenue of €727 million, with a 7% revenue growth and 8% AOP growth [9][30] - The health segment reported underlying revenue of €90 million, representing a 4% growth, with AOP increasing by 19% to €15 million [12][13] - The education segment saw underlying revenue of €108 million, reflecting a 3% growth, with a strong 6.5% growth in Q2 driven by curriculum business performance [14][30] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The global article market grew by about 6%, while the company's article output increased by about 10%, indicating market share gains [9][10] - The full open access market experienced 9% growth, with the company outperforming at 25% growth in this segment [10][30] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company raised its guidance for the 2025 fiscal year, reflecting positive momentum across the business, particularly in research [7][39] - Investments in AI and technology are central to the company's strategy, with a focus on enhancing the research process and improving operational efficiency [6][16] - The company aims to maintain its leadership in open access publishing, having published over 50% of primary research content open access in H1 2025 [15][28] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the resilience of the business, supported by a high share of contracted revenues and a diversified global revenue base [41][60] - The company anticipates continued growth in the research segment, with strong submission volumes and publication growth expected to drive revenue [7][39] - Management noted that the impact of AI is viewed positively, as it is expected to enhance the publication process rather than disrupt it [70][72] Other Important Information - The company has launched several AI tools to improve the research workflow, including the Nature Research Assistant, which is currently in a controlled beta phase [24][25] - The company received a gold rating from EcoVadis for sustainability, placing it in the top 5% of companies assessed [20] Q&A Session Summary Question: Market share gains in full open access - Management attributed market share gains to the quality of their portfolio, increased journal launches, and investments in research integrity and AI [46][50] Question: Margin expansion targets - Management indicated that while they aim for 100 basis points of margin expansion, current performance may limit future expectations [47][53] Question: U.S. market environment for renewals - Management expressed optimism about the U.S. renewal campaign, noting that library budgets are resilient despite fluctuations in government funding [56][60] Question: Relationship with Digital Science - Management clarified that Digital Science is treated as an independent supplier, with no special relationship affecting their operations [62] Question: Potential disruption from AI - Management believes AI will enhance their business rather than disrupt it, as they focus on responsible AI use to improve the publication process [70][72] Question: Revenue guidance changes - Management explained that the revenue guidance upgrade is due to market share gains and improved visibility from completed renewals [67][72] Question: Future demand for open access journals - Management remains confident in their ability to capture market share despite potential competition from other open access publishers [87][89] Question: Share buyback considerations - Management stated that share buybacks would be considered once leverage is within the target range and free float increases [90][91] Question: Balance sheet capacity and acquisitions - Management emphasized a focus on deleveraging and interest expense reduction, with potential acquisitions being evaluated based on strategic fit [98][99]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported underlying revenue growth of 6% and adjusted operating profit (AOP) increasing by 10% in H1 2025 [5][34] - Free cash flow increased by 51%, totaling more than €200 million in 2025 [6] - Adjusted earnings per share rose to €0.83 from €0.57 in H1 2024 [43] Business Segment Data and Key Metrics Changes - The research segment generated underlying revenue of €727 million, with 7% revenue growth and 8% AOP growth [9] - Health segment reported underlying revenue of €90 million, representing 4% growth, with AOP increasing by 19% to €15 million [13] - Education segment reported underlying revenue of €108 million, with a growth of about 3% [14] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The global article market grew by about 6%, while the company's article output increased by about 10% [10] - The full open access market saw 9% growth, with the company outperforming at 25% growth [11] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company has raised its guidance for the 2025 fiscal year, reflecting positive momentum, particularly in research [7][43] - Investments in AI and technology are aimed at transforming the research ecosystem, with over 90 AI applications in use [17][24] - The company continues to focus on open access as a core pillar of its research strategy, publishing over 50% of primary research content open access [16] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the resilience of the business, supported by a high share of contracted revenues [45] - The company expects underlying group revenue to be between €1.96 billion and €1.98 billion for 2025, assuming stable economic conditions [44] Other Important Information - The company launched 24 new journals in the first half of the year, including Nature Clean Technology and Nature Biodiversity [11] - The company received a gold rating from EcoVadis for sustainability, placing it in the top 5% of companies [22] Q&A Session Summary Question: What attributed to the 25% growth in full open access published articles? - Management attributed the growth to the quality of the portfolio, increased investment in new journals, and enhanced research integrity initiatives [49][52] Question: Will margin expansion targets change due to current performance? - Management indicated that while current performance is strong, they would focus on 2025 before discussing midterm margin expansion targets [50][56] Question: How is the market environment in the U.S. for the 2026 renewal campaign? - Management noted that the U.S. market remains resilient, with a significant portion of revenues contracted, and they expect a smaller number of renewals in 2026 [60][63] Question: How does the company view potential disruption from AI? - Management believes that AI will positively impact the industry by improving the publication process and reducing friction, rather than being a disruptive force [70][75] Question: What factors drove the significant change in revenue guidance? - Management expects H2 growth to be in line with H1, driven by completed renewals and strong submission volumes [71][76] Question: What is the expected adjusted effective tax rate for the full year? - Management anticipates the tax rate to decrease to around 12% for the full year due to recent changes in German corporate tax legislation [81] Question: At what level of leverage would the company consider share buybacks? - Management stated that share buybacks would be considered once the free float increases and after achieving their deleveraging targets [88][92]

Company Overview - Springer Nature reported revenues of €1.85 billion in 2024[7] - Research segment contributes 77% to Springer Nature's revenues[11, 12] - Digital revenues account for 88% of Springer Nature's total revenues[12] - Contracted revenues represent 62% of Springer Nature's research revenues[12] Market Position and Growth - The research publishing market is estimated at €10.2 billion in 2023[17] - North America accounts for 42% of the research publishing market in 2023[17] - The number of research articles has grown from 1.6 million in 2013 to 2.6 million in 2023, representing a 5% CAGR[20] Open Access and Technology - Springer Nature published half of its primary research content open access in 2024[29] - Springer Nature has over 90 AI initiatives to transform the publishing process[31] - Snapp, Springer Nature's submission platform, has received over 2 million submissions since launch[32] Strategy and Goals - The company aims to outperform the Research market by around +1% p.a in the mid-term, assuming a market growth of +30% to +35% p.a[43] - Springer Nature expects to increase its adjusted operating profit margin by approximately 100bps mid-term[43]