McGraw Hill Financial Tops Earnings Expectations, Thanks to Acquisition -- Update

By Lisa Beilfuss and Timothy W. Martin 

McGraw Hill Financial Inc. logged stronger-than-expected earnings in its first quarter thanks to its newly acquired SNL business.

The company, which will change its name to S&P Global Inc. later this week pending a shareholder vote, has been working to fold in its acquisition of SNL Financial LC. The companies struck a $2.2 billion deal last summer, one of a string of pricey deals for data-driven companies as the market for firms selling obscure financial intelligence on banks, commodities and real estate attracted a bigger audience.

New York-based McGraw Hill snapped up SNL as part of a larger effort to shed its origins as a publishing company and become a global financial data provider.

On a Tuesday earnings call, Chief Executive Douglas Peterson called the integration of SNL a key priority. "We made tremendous strides," he said, noting that progress so far boosted first-quarter adjusted operating profit in its market intelligence business by 81%. Revenue in the segment rose by more than a quarter to $407 million.

The company's Standard & Poor's ratings unit reported a 9% decline in revenue to $552 million as global bond issuance fell 14%. Mr. Peterson said the company expects global bond issuance to fall about 2% this year, a more bearish outlook than an earlier forecast of 1%.

Meanwhile, the company has moved to shed its J.D. Power business, a $1.1 billion transaction announced earlier this month and on the heels of the sale of its Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluation unit. Mr. Peterson on Tuesday called the J.D. Power divestiture the last one in the foreseeable future.

In all, the company reported a profit of $294 million, down from $303 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were flat at $1.10 thanks to a lower share count. Excluding items, earnings per share rose to $1.20 from $1.10.

McGraw Hill maintained its full-year guidance of $5 to $5.15 a share. The company repurchased around $200 million of stock, after buying back $224 million in the prior quarter.

Revenue rose 5.3% to $1.34 billion. Analysts had projected $1.15 in adjusted earnings per share on $1.36 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

"The upside for the quarter came primarily from share repurchases and much stronger-than-expected profit margins," said Timothy McHugh, an analyst at William Blair, in a Tuesday investor note.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at [e-mail] and Timothy W. Martin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2016 11:32 ET (15:32 GMT)

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