'Strong momentum' for RELX in first half, as Exhibitions business bounces back

In its first-half results for 2022, RELX—parent company of Elsevier and RX, formerly Reed Exhibitions—has revealed half-year revenues of £3,969m, a growth at constant currency of 13% on the same period last year (£3,394m). Adjusted operating profit was up 16% to £1,239m (from £1,023m the previous year).

The Exhibitions division, which includes the London Book Fair, saw a 226% jump in revenues at constant currency, from £121m last year to £394m, and returned to profit, scoring £59m, by comparison to a £48m loss in the first half of 2021. Elsevier recorded a 7% revenue rise to £1,346m, with profit up 5% at constant currency to £500m.

RELX made six acquisitions during the period for a total of £342m.

The company said that for the second half, momentum remains strong across the group. It continued to expect full-year underlying growth rates in revenue and operating profit to be above historical trends.

C.e.o. Erik Engstrom said: "RELX continued to deliver strong revenue and profit growth throughout the first half of 2022. We believe that this is a reflection of our ongoing strategy of focusing on the organic development of increasingly sophisticated analytics  and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers across market segments. Recent acquisitions, which have supplemented our organic growth strategy, continue to perform well.

“In recognition of the strong financial performance we have announced a +10% increase in the interim dividend to 15.7p."