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Springer Nature Reports Strong Financial Growth in 2024
Springer Nature, the academic publisher based in Berlin that became publicly traded last year, has announced a solid financial performance for 2024. The company’s underlying revenue, which excludes the effects of divested companies, saw a 5% increase compared to the previous year, reaching €1.85 billion ($2.02 billion). Adjusted operating profit also rose by 7%, totaling €512 million ($559 million).
Frank Vrancken Peeters, the CEO of Springer Nature, expressed pride in the company’s results, emphasizing their commitment to delivering value and innovation in academic publishing. “We publish an ever-increasing amount of high-quality open access content and invest in technology and people to ensure we consistently outperform the market while growing responsibly and sustainably,” Peeters stated.
The Research segment emerged as the primary contributor to Springer Nature’s growth, with underlying revenue surging by 6% to €1.41 billion ($1.54 billion). This growth was largely attributed to the outstanding performance of the company’s Open Access (OA) Journals portfolio. Notably, 2024 marked a milestone for Springer Nature, as it achieved the landmark of publishing half of its primary research articles as open access for the first time.
This significant achievement highlights the company’s leading role in the shift towards open access publishing, which enhances the accessibility and influence of scientific research, according to the publisher. OA articles tend to receive more downloads, citations, and overall attention compared to their non-OA counterparts.
Other segments also contributed to overall revenue growth. The Education segment experienced a 3% rise in underlying revenue, totaling €235 million ($256 million), driven by robust performance in markets like India and South Africa. Meanwhile, revenue from the Health segment remained relatively stable at €188 million ($205 million).
Geographically, the sales distribution revealed that the Americas represented 32% of total revenue, Europe/Middle East/Africa accounted for 40%, and the Asia/Pacific region contributed 27%.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was another focal point in the company’s communications. Springer Nature announced that it has been investing significantly in technology and AI to streamline the publishing process and enhance the trustworthiness of its research outputs. In 2024, investments in technology reached €177 million ($193 million), with a commitment to follow clear principles in the development and application of AI tools and to ensure that human oversight remains central to decision-making.
CFO Alexandra Dambeck also highlighted the positive financial landscape for the company, stating, “We are pleased with our business and financial performance in 2024, which reflects our strategic focus on high-growth areas and operational efficiency.” She underscored the company’s robust free cash flow and decreased financial leverage as strong indicators for future growth and continued commitment to innovation.
Looking ahead, based on its performance in 2024 and current currency rates, Springer Nature anticipates revenue for 2025 to fall between €1.89 billion and €1.93 billion (approximately $2 billion), with an adjusted operating profit margin expected to remain stable compared to the previous year.
Founded in 2015 through the merger of several prominent publishing entities, including Nature Publishing Group and Springer Science+Business Media, Springer Nature has navigated previous challenges in its journey to a successful IPO last year.
A version of this story first appeared in the U.K. newsletter, BookBrunch.
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