MHP Mcgraw Hill Financial, Inc.

   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 2/5/16) 
   By Timothy W. Martin 

McGraw Hill Financial Inc. is preparing to change its name to S&P Global Inc. this year, a symbolic move that underscores the firm's shift away from its publishing roots.

The new name has received approval from McGraw Hill's board, and company officials will soon file a proposal seeking to amend the firm's moniker, Chief Executive Douglas L. Peterson said in an interview. Shareholders will vote on the matter on April 27 at the company's annual meeting.

The New York firm, which owns Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, disclosed the planned name change Thursday as it reported that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit, driven largely by the company's nonratings operations. The boost in earnings was a surprise due to a slowdown in global bond issuance.

McGraw Hill's shares rose 7.7%, to $87, on Thursday.

On the company's earnings call Thursday, Mr. Peterson said he expects global economic growth to remain in line with prior years. He also expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice in 2016 but remain on hold in March. "Excessive pessimism is probably not warranted," Mr. Peterson said. "Recent stock-market volatility probably overstates the likelihood of slumping global growth this year."

Overall, McGraw Hill reported a fourth-quarter profit of $248 million, or 91 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $846 million, or $3.11 a share, topping analysts' estimates.

The prior-year results included legal settlements related to crisis-era lawsuits over inflated grades of residential-mortgage deals. Revenue increased 7%, to $1.37 billion. Excluding currency effects, the growth was 8%.

Global bond issuance fell 22% in the fourth quarter, and revenue at the S&P ratings division -- McGraw Hill's largest unit -- declined 7%. But other divisions selling commodities pricing or index funds buoyed the firm's performance, leading to results and outlook that "were not as bad as feared," said William Bird, an analyst for FBR & Co., in a note to investors.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2016 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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