Relx posts jump in first-half profit

Professional information and analytics company Relx reported a rise in first-half profit on Thursday as revenue grew.

In the six months to the end of June, revenue grew 14% to £3.72bn while adjusted pre-tax profit was up 16% at £1.07bn. The company, formerly known as Reed Elsevier, lifted its dividend by 14% to 11.70p per share.

Chief executive officer Erik Engstrom said: "We achieved good underlying revenue growth in the first half of 2017, and continued to generate underlying operating profit growth ahead of revenue growth.

"Our strategy is unchanged: Our number one priority remains the organic development of increasingly sophisticated information-based analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers. We believe that the systematic evolution of our business has driven an improvement in our business profile and the quality of our earnings, with more predictable revenues, a higher growth profile, and improving returns."

The group said key business trends were unchanged going into the second half of the year and it remains confident of delivering another year of underlying revenue, profit, and earnings growth.

Relx deployed £500m on share buybacks in the first half and said it plans to deploy a further £200m in the second, £40m of which has already been completed since 1 July.