Relx posts solid growth in revenue, profit

16th Feb 2023 07:27

(Sharecast News) - Global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools Relx reported a significant increase in revenue and adjusted operating profit in its 2022 results on Thursday, as well as continued growth in earnings per share.

The FTSE 100 company said revenue for 2022 totalled £8.55bn, making for an increase of 9% year-on-year.

Adjusted operating profit was £2.68bn, reflecting underlying growth of 15%, while adjusted profit before tax was reported at £2.49bn, making for constant currency growth of 13%.

The company's reported operating profit for 2022 was £2.32bn, while its reported profit before tax was £2.11bn.

Relx also reported adjusted earnings per share of 102.2p, an increase of 10% from the prior year, while its reported earnings per share came in at 85.2p.

The firm proposed a full-year dividend of 54.6p, a 10% increase from the previous year.

Operationally, Relx reported completing nine acquisitions for a total consideration of £443m in the year, as well as a completed share buyback of £500m.

Looking ahead, the firm said it saw its momentum remaining strong across the group, with underlying growth rates in revenue and adjusted operating profit continuing to exceed historic trends.

That, in turn, was expected to drive another year of strong growth in adjusted earnings per share on a constant currency basis.

"Relx delivered strong revenue and profit growth in 2022 - the improving long-term growth trajectory is being driven by the ongoing shift in our business mix towards higher growth analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers across market segments," said chief executive officer Erik Engstrom.

"We also performed well on our corporate responsibility priorities during the year, making good progress with our unique contributions to society, further improving our key performance metrics, and again being recognised by a number of external agencies through high environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings."

"In recognition of our strong cash flow and financial position we are proposing a 10% increase in the full year dividend to 54.6p, and we intend to deploy a total of £800m on share buybacks in 2023."

At 0838 GMT, shares in Relx were up 3.51% at 2,534p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.