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KYNDRYL REPORTS SECOND QUARTER FISCAL 2025 RESULTS

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Revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 total $3.8 billion, pretax loss is $5 million, and net loss is $43 millionAdjusted EBITDA is $557 million, adjusted pretax income is $45 million, and adjusted net income is $3 millionKyndryl Consult again delivers double-digit revenue growth in the quarter and over the last twelve monthsReaffirms outlook for fiscal year 2025, including constant-currency revenue growth in the fourth quarter, supported by a record level of post-spin signings in the most recent quarter and for the trailing twelve months

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, today released financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the second quarter of its 2025 fiscal year. 

“We continue to build momentum, delivering another quarter of signings growth and remaining well-positioned to deliver top-line growth in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.  Our strong performance was led by Kyndryl Consult, our alliances with hyperscalers and our expanding mission-critical capabilities in modernization, cloud, cyber-resiliency and AI readiness,” said Kyndryl Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Martin Schroeter.

Total signings in the quarter were a record $5.6 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 132%.  Total signings for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024 were $16.0 billion, a year-over-year increase of 33%.

“With Kyndryl Bridge powering our services, we’re attracting new customers through our differentiated innovation and delivering incremental value to our existing customers.  We’re uniquely positioned at the nexus of secular trends shaping the evolution of IT, and we’ll continue to capitalize on these market opportunities and drive profitable growth,” Mr. Schroeter said. 

Results for the Fiscal Second Quarter Ended September 30, 2024

For the second quarter, Kyndryl reported revenues of $3.8 billion, a year-over-year decline of 7% on both a reported and a constant-currency basis.  The year-over-year revenue decline reflects the Company’s progress in reducing inherited no-margin and low-margin third-party content in customer contracts, particularly in its United States and Strategic Markets segments.  The Company reported a pretax loss of $5 million and a net loss of $43 million, or ($0.19) per diluted share, in the quarter, compared to a net loss of $142 million, or ($0.62) per diluted share, in the prior-year period.  Cash flow from operations was $149 million, an increase of $103 million compared to the prior-year period.

Adjusted pretax income was $45 million, an 80% increase compared to adjusted pretax income of $25 million in the prior-year period, reflecting contributions from the Company’s “three-A” initiatives and a reduction in depreciation expense due to the previously announced extension of the useful lives of the Company’s hardware assets, offset by the contractually required increase in IBM software costs, workforce rebalancing charges of $39 million and unfavorable currency movements.

In the quarter, adjusted EBITDA was $557 million, and adjusted free cash flow was $56 million.  Both figures reflect workforce rebalancing actions implemented in the quarter.

“In the quarter, we continued to execute on our three-A initiatives to increase our earnings.  Over the last twelve months, we’ve consistently grown our signings to incorporate a broader scope of services, while we continually enhance relationships to generate higher margins,” said David Wyshner, Kyndryl’s Chief Financial Officer.  “The higher margins associated with our post-spin signings underpin our plans to reach high-single-digit adjusted pretax margins in our fiscal year 2027, which begins less than a year and half from now.”

Recent Developments

Alliances initiative – In the second quarter, Kyndryl recognized $260 million in revenue tied to cloud hyperscaler alliances, demonstrating continued progress toward the Company’s hyperscaler revenue target of nearly $1 billion in fiscal year 2025.Advanced Delivery initiative – The AI-enabled Kyndryl Bridge operating platform is further enhancing the world-class technology services the Company provides and creating additional revenue opportunities. It has also helped Kyndryl free up more than 11,500 delivery professionals. This has generated annualized savings of approximately $700 million as of quarter-end, tracking toward the Company’s $750 million fiscal 2025 year-end goal.Accounts initiative – Kyndryl continued to address elements of contracts with substandard margins, bringing the total impact from this initiative to $775 million of annualized benefits, on track to achieve the Company’s $850 million fiscal 2025 year-end objective.Strong projected margin on recent signings – In the quarter, projected pretax income margins associated with total signings were in the high-single-digit range, in line with recent quarters, reflecting the Company’s focus on margin expansion.Double-digit growth in Kyndryl Consult – In the second quarter, Kyndryl Consult revenues grew 23% year-over-year. Kyndryl Consult signings grew 81% year-over-year in the second quarter, and have grown 41% year-over-year over the last twelve months.Securities Industry Services (SIS) divestiture – The Company completed its previously announced sale of its Securities Industry Services platform in Canada earlier this month.

Reaffirming Fiscal Year 2025 Outlook

Kyndryl is reaffirming its outlook for its fiscal year 2025, which runs from April 2024 to March 2025:

Adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 16.3%, representing a year-over-year increase of at least 160 basis points.Adjusted pretax income of at least $460 million, representing a year-over-year increase of at least $295 million.Constant-currency revenue growth of (2%) to (4%), which now implies fiscal 2025 revenue of $15.2 to $15.5 billion based on recent exchange rates. The Company continues to expect to deliver year-over-year constant-currency revenue growth in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.Adjusted free cash flow of approximately $300 million.

Forecasted amounts are based on currency exchange rates as of October 2024.

Earnings Webcast

Kyndryl’s earnings call for the second fiscal quarter is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET on November 7, 2024.  The live webcast can be accessed by visiting investors.kyndryl.com on Kyndryl’s investor relations website.  A slide presentation will be made available on Kyndryl’s investor relations website before the call on November 7, 2024.  Following the event, a replay will be available via webcast for twelve months at investors.kyndryl.com.

About Kyndryl

Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) is the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, serving thousands of enterprise customers in more than 60 countries.  The Company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex, mission-critical information systems that the world depends on every day. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, including statements concerning the Company’s plans, objectives, goals, beliefs, business strategies, future events, business condition, results of operations, financial position, business outlook and business trends and other non-historical statements, including without limitation the information presented in the “Outlook” section of this press release (which does not assume any future acquisitions or divestitures), are forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements often contain words such as  “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “position,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “seek,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar words or expressions or the negative thereof or other variations thereon.  Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current assumptions and beliefs regarding future business and financial performance.

The Company’s actual business, financial condition or results of operations may differ materially from those suggested by forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties which include, among others: failure to attract new customers, retain existing customers or sell additional services to customers; failure to meet growth and productivity objectives; competition; impacts of relationships with critical suppliers and partners; failure to address and adapt to technological developments and trends; inability to attract and retain key personnel and other skilled employees; impact of economic, political, public health and other conditions; damage to the Company’s reputation; inability to accurately estimate the cost of services and the timeline for completion of contracts; service delivery issues; the Company’s ability to successfully manage acquisitions and dispositions, including integration challenges, failure to achieve objectives, the assumption of liabilities and higher debt levels; the impact of our business with government customers; failure of the Company’s intellectual property rights to prevent competitive offerings and the failure of the Company to obtain, retain and extend necessary licenses; the impairment of our goodwill or long-lived assets; risks relating to cybersecurity, data governance and privacy; risks relating to non-compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; adverse effects from tax matters and environmental matters; legal proceedings and investigatory risks; the impact of changes in market liquidity conditions and customer credit risk on receivables; the Company’s pension plans; the impact of currency fluctuations; risks related to the Company’s spin-off; and risks related to the Company’s common stock and the securities market.

Additional risks and uncertainties include, among others, those risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, and may be further updated from time to time in the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made.  Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

In this release, certain amounts may not add due to the use of rounded numbers; percentages presented are calculated based on the underlying amounts. 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding its results, the Company has provided certain metrics that are not calculated based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), such as constant-currency results, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted pretax income, adjusted net income, adjusted EPS, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted pretax margin, adjusted net margin and adjusted free cash flow.  Such non-GAAP metrics are intended to supplement GAAP metrics, but not to replace them.  The Company’s non-GAAP metrics may not be comparable to similarly titled metrics used by other companies.  Definitions of non-GAAP metrics and reconciliations of non-GAAP metrics for historical periods to GAAP metrics are included in the tables in this release.

A reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP financial information is not included in this release because the Company is unable to predict with reasonable certainty some individual components of such reconciliation without unreasonable effort.  These items are uncertain, depend on various factors and could have a material impact on future results computed in accordance with GAAP. 

Investor Contact:
Lori Chaitman
lori.chaitman@kyndryl.com 

Media Contact:
Ed Barbini
edward.barbini@kyndryl.com

Table 1

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

(in millions, except per share amounts)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Revenues

$

3,774

$

4,073

$

7,513

$

8,266

Cost of services

$

3,024

$

3,422

$

5,958

$

6,871

Selling, general and administrative expenses

647

634

1,304

1,353

Workforce rebalancing charges

39

39

74

97

Transaction-related costs

48

21

89

Interest expense

25

31

52

61

Other expense

44

8

44

13

Total costs and expenses

$

3,779

$

4,182

$

7,454

$

8,484

Income (loss) before income taxes

$

(5)

$

(109)

$

59

$

(218)

Provision for income taxes

38

33

91

65

Net income (loss)

$

(43)

$

(142)

$

(32)

$

(283)

Earnings per share data

Basic earnings (loss) per share

$

(0.19)

$

(0.62)

$

(0.14)

$

(1.24)

Diluted earnings (loss) per share

(0.19)

(0.62)

(0.14)

(1.24)

Weighted-average basic shares outstanding

231.6

229.1

231.1

228.5

Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding

231.6

229.1

231.1

228.5

 

Table 2

SEGMENT RESULTS

AND SELECTED BALANCE SHEET INFORMATION

(dollars in millions)

Three Months Ended September 30,

Year-over-Year Growth

As

Constant

Segment Results

2024

2023

Reported

Currency

Revenue

United States

$

960

$

1,108

(13 %)

(13 %)

Japan

604

569

6 %

9 %

Principal Markets1

1,318

1,376

(4 %)

(5 %)

Strategic Markets1

892

1,019

(12 %)

(11 %)

Total revenue

$

3,774

$

4,073

(7 %)

(7 %)

Adjusted EBITDA2

United States

$

159

$

176

Japan

94

84

Principal Markets

187

169

Strategic Markets

138

166

Corporate and other3

(22)

(21)

Total adjusted EBITDA

$

557

$

574

Six Months Ended September 30,

Year-over-Year Growth

As

Constant

Segment Results

2024

2023

Reported

Currency

Revenue

United States

$

1,946

$

2,272

(14 %)

(14 %)

Japan

1,174

1,180

(0 %)

7 %

Principal Markets1

2,633

2,768

(5 %)

(5 %)

Strategic Markets1

1,761

2,046

(14 %)

(13 %)

Total revenue

$

7,513

$

8,266

(9 %)

(8 %)

Adjusted EBITDA2

United States

$

292

$

412

Japan

177

184

Principal Markets

428

320

Strategic Markets

258

315

Corporate and other3

(42)

(45)

Total adjusted EBITDA

$

1,113

$

1,186

September 30,

March 31,

Balance Sheet Data

2024

2024

Cash and equivalents

$

1,325

$

1,553

Debt (short-term and long-term)

3,241

3,238

___________________________

1

Principal Markets is comprised of Kyndryl’s operations in Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain/Portugal and the United Kingdom/Ireland.  Strategic Markets is comprised of Kyndryl’s operations in all other geographic locations.  Kyndryl’s operations in Australia/New Zealand transitioned from Principal Markets to Strategic Markets in the quarter ended June 30, 2024; historical segment information has been updated to reflect this change.

2

In the three months ended September 30, 2024, amounts include workforce rebalancing charges of $12 million in United States, $2 million in Japan, $9 million in Principal Markets, and $16 million in Strategic Markets. In the six months ended September 30, 2024, amounts include workforce rebalancing charges of $27 million in United States, $3 million in Japan, $13 million in Principal Markets, and $31 million in Strategic Markets.

3

Represents net amounts not allocated to segments.

 

Table 3

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

(dollars in millions)

Six Months Ended September 30,

2024

2023

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income (loss)

$

(32)

$

(283)

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation of property, equipment and capitalized software

276

431

Depreciation of right-of-use assets

154

173

Amortization of transition costs and prepaid software

647

631

Amortization of capitalized contract costs

205

281

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets

17

15

Stock-based compensation

49

48

Deferred taxes

17

51

Net (gain) loss on asset sales and other

(14)

22

Change in operating assets and liabilities:

Deferred costs (excluding amortization)

(852)

(699)

Right-of-use assets and liabilities (excluding depreciation)

(145)

(195)

Workforce rebalancing liabilities

(13)

(18)

Receivables

193

(110)

Accounts payable

(237)

(494)

Taxes

(31)

(55)

Other assets and other liabilities

(133)

75

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

$

101

$

(127)

Cash flows from investing activities:

Capital expenditures

$

(256)

$

(275)

Proceeds from disposition of property and equipment

54

119

Acquisitions and divestitures, net of cash acquired

(46)

Other investing activities, net

7

(53)

Net cash used in investing activities

$

(241)

$

(208)

Cash flows from financing activities:

Debt repayments

$

(73)

$

(67)

Common stock repurchases for tax withholdings

(24)

(12)

Other financing activities, net

(5)

(1)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

$

(101)

$

(80)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

$

17

$

(33)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

$

(224)

$

(448)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

$

1,554

$

1,860

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

$

1,330

$

1,412

Supplemental data

Income taxes paid, net of refunds received

$

89

$

88

Interest paid on debt

$

60

$

59

___________________________

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities was $149 million in the three months ended September 30, 2024 and ($48) million in the three months ended June 30, 2024.

Table 4
NON-GAAP METRIC DEFINITIONS AND RECONCILIATIONS
(dollars in millions, except signings)

We report our financial results in accordance with GAAP.  We also present certain non-GAAP financial measures to provide useful supplemental information to investors.  We provide these non-GAAP financial measures as we believe it enhances investors’ visibility to management decisions and their impacts on operational performance; enables better comparison to peer companies; and allows us to provide a long-term strategic view of the business going forward.

Constant-currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period.  We define constant-currency revenues as total revenues excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate movements and use it to determine the constant-currency revenue growth on a year-over-year basis.  Constant-currency revenues are calculated by translating current period revenues using corresponding prior-period exchange rates.

Adjusted pretax income (loss) is defined as pretax income (loss) excluding transaction-related costs and benefits, charges related to ceasing to use leased / fixed assets, charges related to lease terminations, pension costs other than pension servicing costs and multi-employer plan costs, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, workforce rebalancing charges incurred prior to March 31, 2024, impairment expense, significant litigation costs and benefits, and currency impacts of highly inflationary countries.  The Company’s fiscal year 2025 outlook for adjusted pretax income includes approximately $100 million of anticipated workforce rebalancing charges.  Adjusted pretax margin is calculated by dividing adjusted pretax income by revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) excluding net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (excluding depreciation of right-of-use assets and amortization of capitalized contract costs), charges related to ceasing to use leased / fixed assets, charges related to lease terminations, transaction-related costs and benefits, pension costs other than pension servicing costs and multi-employer plan costs, stock-based compensation expense, workforce rebalancing charges incurred prior to March 31, 2024, impairment expense, significant litigation costs and benefits, and currency impacts of highly inflationary countries.  The Company’s fiscal year 2025 outlook for adjusted EBITDA includes approximately $100 million of anticipated workforce rebalancing charges.  Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by revenue.

Adjusted net income is defined as adjusted pretax income less the reported provision for income taxes, minus or plus the tax effect of the non-GAAP adjustments made to calculate adjusted pretax income, and excluding exceptional items impacting the reported provision for income taxes.  Adjusted net margin is calculated by dividing adjusted net income by revenue.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) is defined as adjusted net income divided by diluted weighted average shares outstanding to reflect shares that are dilutive or anti-dilutive based on the amount of adjusted net income.   The weighted average common shares outstanding used to calculate adjusted earnings (loss) per share will differ from such shares used to calculate diluted earnings (loss) per share (GAAP) when the inclusion of dilutive shares has an anti-dilutive effect for one calculation but not for the other.

Adjusted free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities (GAAP) after adding back transaction-related payments, charges related to lease terminations, payments related to workforce rebalancing charges incurred prior to March 31, 2024, and significant litigation payments, less net capital expenditures.  Management uses adjusted free cash flow as a measure to evaluate its operating results, plan strategic investments and assess our ability and need to incur and service debt.  We believe adjusted free cash flow is a useful supplemental financial measure to aid investors in assessing our ability to pursue business opportunities and investments and to service our debt.  Adjusted free cash flow is a financial measure that is not recognized under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operations or liquidity derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Signings are defined by Kyndryl as an initial estimate of the value of a customer’s commitment under a contract.  The calculation involves estimates and judgments to gauge the extent of a customer’s commitment. We calculate this based on various considerations including the type and duration of the agreement as well as the presence of termination charges or wind-down costs.  Contract extensions and increases in scope are treated as signings only to the extent of the incremental new value.  Signings can vary over time due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the timing of signing a small number of larger outsourcing contracts, as well as the length of those contracts.  The conversion of signings into revenue may vary based on the types of services and solutions, customer decisions and other factors, which may include, but are not limited to, macroeconomic environment or external events.  Management uses signings as a tool to monitor the performance of the business including the business’ ability to attract new customers and sell additional scope into our existing customer base.

Reconciliation of net income (loss)

to adjusted pretax income,

adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

income (loss) and adjusted EPS

September 30,

September 30,

(in millions, except per share amounts)

2024

2023

2024

2023

Net income (loss) (GAAP)

$

(43)

$

(142)

$

(32)

$

(283)

Provision for income taxes

38

33

91

65

Pretax income (loss) (GAAP)

$

(5)

$

(109)

$

59

$

(218)

Workforce rebalancing charges incurred prior to March 31, 2024

39

97

Charges related to ceasing to use leased/fixed assets and lease terminations

10

20

10

Transaction-related costs

48

21

89

Stock-based compensation expense

25

25

49

48

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets

10

7

17

15

Other adjustments1

5

15

(27)

31

Adjusted pretax income (non-GAAP)

$

45

$

25

$

138

$

72

Interest expense

25

31

52

61

Depreciation of property, equipment and capitalized software2

150

212

276

422

Amortization of transition costs and prepaid software

337

306

647

631

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)

$

557

$

574

$

1,113

$

1,186

Net income (loss) margin

(1.1) %

(3.5) %

(0.4) %

(3.4) %

Adjusted EBITDA margin

14.8 %

14.1 %

14.8 %

14.4 %

Adjusted pretax income (non-GAAP)

$

45

$

25

$

138

$

72

Provision for income taxes (GAAP)

(38)

(33)

(91)

(65)

Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments

(4)

(4)

(12)

(19)

Adjusted net income (loss) (non-GAAP)

$

3

$

(12)

$

35

$

(12)

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding for calculating Adjusted EPS3

238.2

229.1

237.0

228.5

Diluted earnings (loss) per share (GAAP)

$

(0.19)

$

(0.62)

$

(0.14)

$

(1.24)

Adjusted earnings (loss) per share (non-GAAP)

$

0.01

$

(0.05)

$

0.15

$

(0.05)

___________________________

1

Other adjustments represent pension costs other than pension servicing costs and multi-employer plan costs, significant litigation costs and benefits, and currency impacts of highly inflationary countries.

2

Amounts for the three and six months ended September 30, 2023 exclude $9 million of expense that is included in transaction-related costs.

3

For the three and six months ended September 30, 2024, the computation of adjusted earnings (loss) per share (EPS) included certain securities that were dilutive to the calculation.

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

Reconciliation of cash flow from operations

September 30,

September 30,

to adjusted free cash flow (in millions)

2024

2023

2024

2023

Cash flows from operating activities (GAAP)

$

149

$

46

$

101

$

(127)

Plus: Transaction-related payments (benefits)

42

5

84

Plus: Workforce rebalancing payments related to charges incurred prior to March 31, 2024

4

34

25

113

Plus: Significant litigation payments

6

10

10

44

Plus: Payments related to lease terminations

(2)

5

Less: Net capital expenditures

(104)

(61)

(202)

(155)

Adjusted free cash flow (non-GAAP)

$

56

$

69

$

(60)

$

(37)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

Signings (in billions)

2024

2023

2024

2023

Signings1

$

5.6

$

2.4

$

8.7

$

5.2

___________________________

1

Signings for the three months ended September 30, 2024 increased by 132%, and 133% in constant currency, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023.  Signings for the six months ended September 30, 2024 increased by 67%, and 69% in constant currency, compared to the six months ended September 30, 2023. 

 

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RSPO Launches New Guidance to Leverage Sustainable Palm Oil Certification for IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has released a guidance document, “Leveraging RSPO Principles and Criteria for IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards”. This new resource supports certified sustainable palm oil producers to align their sustainability practices with the IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 disclosure standards that serve as the global framework for reporting sustainability-related financial information.

As more than 30 jurisdictions, representing around 60% of global GDP, move towards adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SDS), companies are increasingly required to disclose how sustainability-related risks and opportunities affect their financial position and prospects.1

This resource provides a practical pathway for palm oil producers to respond to these requirements by leveraging their existing compliance with the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C), without duplicating efforts or creating parallel systems.

Informing investor-relevant disclosures: A four-step approach

Certification and the IFRS SDS serve different purposes. This guidance, developed with support from PwC Malaysia, provides a practical bridge between operational sustainability practices and financial disclosure expectations by helping members translate certification-related topics, metrics, and evidence to inform investor-relevant disclosures.

It sets out a four-step approach to IFRS SDS-aligned reporting, guiding RSPO Members on applicability, reporting boundaries, identification of sustainability-related risks and opportunities, and links to financial performance. It also includes seven practical examples, illustrating how the RSPO P&C requirements and implementation evidence can inform disclosures across key sustainability topics, from ethical conduct and legal compliance to environmental protection and worker health and safety.

Beyond growers, the guidance document also supports financial institutions by helping banks, insurers, and investors understand how palm oil sustainability issues, such as labour disputes and traceability gaps, can translate into financial risks, impacts, and opportunities, enabling clearer risk profiling and more informed financing decisions.

Joseph D’ Cruz, RSPO Chief Executive Officer, said: “As sustainability reporting becomes an integral pillar of financial performance, this guidance bridges certification and disclosure, providing RSPO members with a practical framework to demonstrate sustainability performance in ways that resonate with global capital markets. In line with the growing importance of sustainability disclosures in financing and investment decision-making processes, this guidance illustrates how RSPO Principles and Criteria practices can complement an organisation’s strategy and risk assessment processes.”

Andrew Chan, Partner, Sustainability Leader at PwC Malaysia, said: “This guidance responds to the broader shift towards measuring sustainability through a financial lens, with the adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2). For RSPO growers, this creates an opportunity to demonstrate how sustainability practices contribute to business resilience as well as value creation — building investor confidence for the long term.”

Importantly, the guidance also reflects RSPO’s longer term interest in progressively strengthening linkages with sustainability disclosure frameworks. As disclosure expectations continue to evolve, RSPO intends to further explore how certification-related data metrics and assurance processes can support broader and more integrated sustainability disclosures in the future.

The Guidance Document can be downloaded here.

For more information, visit www.rspo.org 

About RSPO:
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global partnership to make palm oil sustainable. Formed in 2004, the RSPO is a multi-stakeholder non-profit organisation that unites members from across the palm oil value chain, including oil palm producers, palm oil processors and traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and social or developmental NGOs.

As a partnership for progress and positive impact, the RSPO facilitates global change to make the production and consumption of palm oil sustainable. To inspire change, we communicate the environmental and social benefits. To make progress, we catalyse collaboration. To provide assurance, we set the standards of certification.

The RSPO is registered as an international association in Zurich, Switzerland, with main offices in Malaysia and Indonesia, and offices in China, Colombia, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. 

About PwC:
At PwC, we help clients build trust and reinvent so they can turn complexity into competitive advantage. We’re a tech-forward, people-empowered network with more than 364,000 people in 136 countries and 137 territories. Across audit and assurance, tax and legal, deals and consulting, we help clients build, accelerate, and sustain momentum. Find out more at www.pwc.com

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IFRS Foundation, ISSB Podcast February 2025

 

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SOURCE Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil

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Nordic Capital announces agreement to sell ArisGlobal to Dassault Systèmes, following its transformation into a scaled and AI-enabled life sciences platform

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WALTHAM, Mass., 23 July 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nordic Capital today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell ArisGlobal, a leading provider of software to the life sciences industry, to Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: FR0014003TT8) (Paris: DSY.PA). The transaction represents a full exit for Nordic Capital and marks the successful culmination of a partnership that has transformed ArisGlobal into a scaled, cloud-native and AI-enabled platform serving more than 200 life sciences companies, CROs and government health authorities worldwide.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, ArisGlobal develops and delivers regulatory, safety, and quality software to a global client base that includes many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotech organisations, as well as regulatory authorities. Its flagship LifeSphere® platform is a fully integrated, cloud-native suite that enables life sciences organisations to manage complex regulatory submissions, pharmacovigilance workflows and clinical data on a single platform, improving compliance, speed and operational efficiency. The platform also embeds advanced AI-enabled automation across core pharmacovigilance workflows, reducing manual processing and accelerating safety case management.

“Nordic Capital invested in ArisGlobal because the business had strong fundamentals, a loyal blue-chip client base and significant potential to modernise its technology and scale its commercial reach. Working closely with Aman and his team, Nordic Capital has supported the company’s transformation into a leading cloud-native platform for the life sciences industry with differentiated AI-enabled capabilities and a strengthened market position. Nordic Capital is proud of what has been achieved together with management and looks forward to seeing the company continue to grow under Dassault Systèmes ownership,” said Daniel Berglund, Partner and Head of Healthcare, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Nordic Capital first invested in ArisGlobal in 2019, partnering with the founding family and management team to pursue an ambitious development strategy. In 2021, Nordic Capital made a further investment in the company, reflecting its conviction in ArisGlobal’s growth potential and the progress achieved since the original partnership began. Throughout the ownership period, Nordic Capital worked closely with management to accelerate the SaaS transition, professionalise the go-to-market organisation, broaden the product offering and strengthen the leadership team.

The migration to a modern, cloud-native architecture created the foundation for ArisGlobal to become an early leader in the application of AI to drug safety. A key milestone was the development and launch of NavaX, ArisGlobal’s generative AI solution for safety case processing, which automates and accelerates core pharmacovigilance workflows and has been adopted by a number of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. NavaX has further differentiated ArisGlobal’s offering and marked an important step in the Company’s evolution into a broader, AI-enabled safety and regulatory software platform.

“The life sciences industry is at an inflection point as regulatory complexity is increasing, data volumes are growing and our clients need software that can keep pace. The partnership with Nordic Capital gave us the resources and the runway to build exactly that. NavaX and our expanded platform are the result of that ambition, and I am confident we are well placed for what comes next,” said Aman Wasan, CEO, ArisGlobal.

Alongside its technology transformation, ArisGlobal strengthened its management team and commercial organisation, while two strategic acquisitions broadened the Company’s platform capabilities. Today, ArisGlobal serves more than 200 enterprise customers, including half of the world’s top 50 biopharma companies, processes more than 12 million safety cases annually and is expected to generate approximately USD 175 million in revenue in 2026. As rising regulatory complexity and increasing volumes of adverse event reporting continue to drive demand for advanced life sciences software, ArisGlobal is well positioned for future growth through solutions that automate compliance workflows, reduce manual processing and enable organisations to manage regulatory risk more effectively.

The transaction brings together ArisGlobal’s leadership in AI-enabled safety and regulatory software with Dassault Systèmes’ capabilities across research, clinical development and manufacturing. Nordic Capital believes the combination represents a highly compelling strategic fit, pairing complementary capabilities to create a broader, end-to-end offering across the life sciences value chain. ArisGlobal will also benefit from Dassault Systèmes’ global scale, customer reach and investment capacity, providing a strong platform for its next phase of innovation and growth.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Evercore and Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisors to ArisGlobal and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to ArisGlobal.

Media contacts:

Nordic Capital
Katarina Janerud
Communications Manager, Nordic Capital Advisors
+46 8 440 50 50
katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

ArisGlobal
Morgan Scott
Vice President, Marketing & Communications and Chief of Staff
mscott@arisglobal.com

About ArisGlobal

ArisGlobal is a leading provider of software to the life sciences industry. Its LifeSphere® platform delivers integrated regulatory, safety, and quality solutions to more than 200 life sciences companies, CROs and government health authorities worldwide. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, ArisGlobal combines deep domain expertise with advanced technology to help clients improve compliance, accelerate development cycles and manage regulatory complexity at global scale. For more information, visit www.arisglobal.com.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading international private equity investor and subsector specialist dedicated to building stronger, more resilient businesses through transformative, long-term growth in partnership with management teams. With over 35 years of experience, Nordic Capital currently manages approximately EUR 39 billion in assets, investing in middle-market companies across Northern Europe and North America. Rooted in its Nordic heritage and values, it combines global reach with local presence through dedicated sector investment advisory teams, bringing deep expertise across its core sectors: Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and Services & Industrial Tech. Through active ownership, strong operational capabilities, a global network of experts and technology-enabled transformation, Nordic Capital helps companies scale, innovate and become sustainable leaders. For more information, visit www.nordiccapital.com or connect on LinkedIn.

“Nordic Capital” refers to, depending on the context, any, or all, Nordic Capital branded entities, vehicles, structures, and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio managers of Nordic Capital’s entities and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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Cognizant and Gulf Edge Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Enterprise AI Adoption in Southeast Asia

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Partnership combines Cognizant’s global AI engineering capabilities with Gulf Edge’s sovereign digital infrastructure to capture the region’s growing demand for secure, scalable AI solutions.

BANGKOK, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leading AI builder and global technology services provider, and Gulf Edge Company Limited, the digital infrastructure arm of Thai energy and infrastructure conglomerate Gulf Development Public Company Limited (GULF) or Gulf Group, today announced a landmark strategic partnership. The alliance is designed to accelerate enterprise AI adoption and establish a resilient, AI-native digital economy in Thailand and the broader region.

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes industries, economies, and societies worldwide, the partnership aims to establish the foundational ecosystem needed to enable Thailand’s next phase of digital transformation. By combining trusted sovereign digital infrastructure with world-class AI engineering and enterprise transformation capabilities, Gulf Edge and Cognizant will help organizations deploy AI securely, responsibly, and at scale.

The collaboration brings together Gulf Edge’s leadership in digital infrastructure, energy, cloud, and strategic relationships across Thailand’s most important industries with Cognizant’s global expertise in AI, digital engineering, cloud modernization, data, and intelligent operations. Together, the two companies will deliver end-to-end AI capabilities spanning infrastructure, AI platforms, enterprise solutions, systems integration, and managed services.

The partnership will initially focus on accelerating AI adoption across key sectors including banking and financial services, energy and utilities, healthcare, telecommunications, manufacturing, and the public sector. Through industry-specific AI solutions, organizations will be able to improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, strengthen decision-making, automate complex business processes, and unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Beyond enterprise transformation, Gulf Edge and Cognizant share a broader ambition of strengthening Thailand’s position as a regional AI hub. The partnership is expected to attract global technology expertise, stimulate investment in advanced digital capabilities, and create high-value employment opportunities across AI engineering, data science, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. The two companies also plan to collaborate with universities, research institutions, technology partners, and public-sector organizations to develop AI talent, promote responsible AI adoption, and foster a sustainable innovation ecosystem for the country.

Mr. Sarath Ratanavadi, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Development Public Company Limited, said, “Our partnership with Cognizant marks an important milestone in our vision of helping Thailand become an AI-native economy. By combining Gulf Edge’s strengths in digital infrastructure, energy, cloud, and deep understanding of the Thai market with Cognizant’s global expertise in enterprise AI, digital engineering, and transformation services, we are creating a comprehensive platform that enables organizations to adopt AI with confidence and generate measurable business outcomes. Together, we will develop secure, resilient, and future-ready sovereign digital infrastructure while delivering industry-specific AI solutions tailored to the needs of Thai enterprises and public institutions. We believe AI has the potential to transform every sector, creating new opportunities for productivity, innovation, and sustainable economic growth.”

Mr. Ganesh Ayyar, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ), Cognizant, said, “As Thailand works toward its ambition of becoming an AI-native economy, we see this partnership as a meaningful way to help contribute to that vision, not just through the projects we deliver, but by building lasting AI and technology capability inside the country. With Gulf Edge’s market reach and Cognizant’s AI Builder strategy and global delivery capability, we are positioned to deliver transformative outcomes for Thai enterprises across every major sector.”

About Gulf Edge
Gulf Edge Company Limited is the digital infrastructure arm of Gulf Development Public Company Limited, Thailand’s leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate. Gulf Edge is building a robust digital ecosystem, spanning data centers, cloud services, satellite technology, and AI infrastructure, to accelerate Thailand’s digital transformation and position the country as a regional hub for the AI economy.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for clients. Its deep industry, process, and engineering expertise enables it to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns, and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.

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SOURCE Gulf Development Public Company Limited (GULF)

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