Konrad Zomer

Konrad Zomer of ABN AMRO - ODDO BHF asked for details on the types of roles filled during the recent hiring push and questioned why personnel growth shouldn't be expected to keep pace with the company's historically high revenue growth.

Answer

CEO Nancy McKinstry explained that the hiring was concentrated in technology, sales, and product management to fill a backlog of open positions from 2022. She noted that while some personnel growth will occur, it will not be directly correlated with revenue growth due to increasing productivity from technology, scale effects, and platform reuse, which allows the company to get more value from its R&D investments over time.

Konrad Zomer of ABN AMRO asked for a divisional breakdown of the approximately €10 million in restructuring charges incurred in the first half.

Answer

CFO Kevin Entricken stated that the company does not typically break out restructuring costs by division but confirmed that the majority of the impact in the current year was within the Tax & Accounting and Legal & Regulatory divisions. He reiterated the full-year guidance for restructuring costs.

Konrad Zomer of ABN AMRO Bank questioned the reliability of the 2017 restructuring charge guidance given that 2016 charges came in above the guided range. He also asked if the press release's mention of "near-term disposals" pointed to a specific, imminent transaction.

Answer

CFO Kevin Entricken affirmed the €15-€25 million range for 2017 is appropriate, explaining the 2016 overage resulted from proactively taking on additional restructuring in Tax & Accounting. CEO Nancy McKinstry stated that while the company constantly reviews its portfolio for disposals, she had nothing specific to comment on regarding the "near-term" language.