Relx plc are proposing a full year dividend of 54.6p (49.8p), an increase of +10%. Dividend cover, based on adjusted earnings per share, is 1.9x (1.8x).
Other financial highlights include:
Revenue £8,553m (£7,244m); underlying growth +9%: Electronic revenue, representing 83% of the total, grew +6%, with a further recovery in face-to-face activity and a reducing print drag bringing the overall group underlying revenue growth rate to +9%.
Adjusted operating profit £2,683m (£2,210m); underlying growth +15%: Our strategy of driving continuous process innovation to manage cost growth below revenue growth, together with the recovery in face-to-face activity, resulted in an improvement in the group adjusted operating margin to 31.4% (30.5%).
Reported operating profit £2,323m (£1,884m): Improvement driven by higher adjusted operating profit.
Adjusted profit before tax £2,489m (£2,077m); constant currency growth +13%: the adjusted net interest expense increased to £194m (£133m). The average interest rate on gross debt was 2.9% (2.0%).
Reported profit before tax £2,113m (£1,797m): Improvement driven by higher adjusted profit before tax.
Tax: The adjusted tax charge was £530m (£384m). The adjusted effective tax rate was 21.3% (18.5%), with the prior year benefitting from non-recurring tax credits. The reported tax charge was £481m (£326m).
Adjusted EPS 102.2p (87.6p) +17%; constant currency growth +10%.
Reported EPS 85.2p (76.3p) +12%.
