Kyriba’s Currency Impact Report: Multinational Corporations Earnings Impacted by $11.21 Billion in Total FX Volatility

Quarterly Report Reveals North American Corporations Suffered $4.56 Billion in Headwinds

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kyriba’s Currency Impact Report (CIR), a comprehensive quarterly report which details the impacts of foreign exchange (FX) exposures among 1,200 multinational companies based in North America and Europe with at least 15 percent of their revenue coming from overseas, reveals $11.21 billion in total impacts to earnings from currency volatility. The combined pool of corporations reported $4.47 billion in tailwinds and $6.74 billion in headwinds in the fourth quarter of 2021. North American companies reported $4.56 billion in collective headwinds in Q4 2021, a 390% increase compared to the previous quarter, snapping a three-quarter streak of declining impacts. European companies reported an 80% percent decrease in negative currency impacts, with companies reporting $2.18 billion in FX-related headwinds.

“With profits at a premium, more than ever, multinationals can’t afford to let their revenues and earnings per share be vulnerable to currency movements. A strengthening dollar and increased volatility impacted revenue and earnings for US corporations,” said Wolfgang Koester, Chief Evangelist of Kyriba. “CFOs who don’t have precise data to support their hedging decisions, minimizing currency exposures, are the ones being impacted.”

Highlights from the May 2022 Kyriba Currency Impact Report include:

• The average earnings per share (EPS) impact from currency volatility reported by North American companies in Q4 2021 remained at $0.04 — four times greater than the recommended standard of $0.01 EPS impact.
• Publicly traded North American companies that qualified to be monitored in the Q4 2021 CIR reported a combined $4.56 billion in headwinds, and $468 million in tailwinds.
• For the second quarter in a row, North American companies indicated the Canadian dollar (CAD) as the most impactful currency, with 33% of companies referencing it as impacting revenues; the euro (EUR) was second with 27% of North American companies identifying it as impactful and the Chinese Yuan ranking third.
• The euro was the currency most mentioned as impactful by European companies on earnings calls, followed by the Swedish krona and the U.S. dollar ranking third, remaining consistent with the previous quarter.
• The top five industries that experienced the greatest impact from currencies in North America were (in ranked order): healthcare equipment & supplies, chemicals, professional services, biotech & pharmaceuticals, and life sciences tools and services.

“Corporate risk managers face a difficult challenge as inflation and currency volatility are increasing due to the myriad issues impacting global markets. We are seeing a doubling or tripling of their portfolio currency risk and the cost of hedging is also increasing. CFOs require more sophisticated FX solutions to provide accurate and timely FX exposure and risk analysis to navigate their currency volatility without spending excessive amounts on hedging instruments,” said Koester.

To learn more about specific industries affected and which currencies were most impactful to multinationals, download the latest Kyriba Currency Impact Report here.

About Kyriba Corp.

Kyriba empowers CFOs, Treasurers, and their IT counterparts to transform treasury, payments, working capital, and connectivity solutions to activate liquidity as a dynamic, real-time vehicle for growth and value creation. Kyriba is a secure, scalable SaaS platform that leverages artificial intelligence, automates payments workflows, and enables thousands of multinational corporations and banks to maximize growth, protect against loss from fraud and financial risk, and reduce operational costs. With over 2,500 clients worldwide, including 25% of Fortune 500 and Eurostoxx 50 companies, Kyriba manages more than 1.3 billion bank transactions per year, and 250 million payments for a total value of $15 Trillion annually.

Kyriba is headquartered in San Diego, with offices globally. For more information, visit www.kyriba.com.