(Sharecast News) - Business information services group Relx said on Thursday that first-half profit and revenue rose as it hiked its dividend, with momentum remaining strong across the group.

In the six months to the end of June, adjusted pre-tax profit increased 12% to £1.4bn, with revenues up 8% to £4.5bn. The interim dividend was lifted 8% to 17p a share.

Chief executive Erik Engstrom said: "Relx delivered strong revenue and profit growth in the first half of 2023. The improving long-term growth trajectory continues to be driven by the ongoing shift in business mix towards higher growth analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers across market segments.

"By embracing artificial intelligence technologies for well over a decade we have been able to develop and deploy these analytics and decision tools across the company, and we believe that our ability to leverage AI, as it evolves, will continue to be an important driver of our business going forward."