Wolters Kluwer has reported difficult selling conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. The company made the observations in its trading update for the first quarter ended March 31.
“Organic growth was weak in April, due to lower new sales and software licenses,” WK said regarding its tax and accounting business. Revenue for the segment was up 5 percent in constant currencies and 5 percent organically over last year’s corresponding period. European companies generally do not provide revenue and net income figures in trading updates
Overall; revenue was up 5 percent, but 2 percentage points stemmed from the favorable impact of currency with organic revenue up 4 percent.
The Internal Revenue Service’s extension of the filing season deadline from April 15 to July 15 is also impacting results. The company said its expects efiling revenue will extend into the third quarter.
In general, WK says, “Market conditions for new sales of subscription products and for non-recurring categories such as training, software licenses, and implementation services are proving challenging.”
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind