Key Takeaways:
- Revenue rose 7% on an underlying basis to £4.87 billion
- Adjusted operating profit grew 9% underlying, beating consensus
- AI-enabled platforms drove acceleration across Risk, STM and Legal
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Relx reports 7% underlying revenue growth as AI tools drive gains
Relx reported H1 underlying revenue growth of 7%, with AI-enabled analytics tools driving profit gains across three of its four divisions.
"The results reflect broad-based growth across all four business areas, supported by deeply embedded AI-enabled analytics and decision tools," Chief Executive Erik Engstrom said.
Adjusted operating profit rose 9% on an underlying basis to £1.73 billion, ahead of the £1.72 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS increased 11% at constant currency to 68.6 pence. The adjusted operating margin expanded 70 basis points to 35.5%.
Shares rose 2.1% to 2,505 pence in London trading. The company raised its interim dividend 7% to 20.9 pence and completed £1.75 billion of its planned £2.25 billion share buyback program.
Revenue reached £4.87 billion, up 2.7% on a reported basis and 7% on an underlying basis, just shy of the £4.91 billion Bloomberg consensus. Pretax profit rose 4.6% to £1.59 billion. Cash conversion was 98%, and free cash flow exceeded £1.1 billion.
Risk, STM and Legal Lead Profit Growth
The Risk division delivered 8% underlying revenue growth and 10% underlying adjusted operating profit growth, driven by demand for financial crime compliance and digital fraud solutions. More than 90% of Risk revenue comes from machine-to-machine interactions, Engstrom said.
Scientific, Technical & Medical posted 6% underlying revenue growth and 8% underlying profit growth, supported by the rollout of LeapSpace, an AI-enabled research workspace. Active users of LeapSpace nearly doubled between March and June, and article submissions rose more than 20%.
Legal was the fastest-growing division, with 10% underlying revenue growth and 13% underlying profit growth. About 90% of new sales are now from the AI-enabled Lexis+ with Protégé platform, while roughly three-quarters of renewal value comes from the same platform.
Exhibitions delivered 6% underlying revenue growth but only 2% profit growth, partly because of travel disruption and the rescheduling of some events to the second half. Events in the Middle East represent about 3% of divisional revenue, or less than 0.5% of group revenue.
AI Costs Remain Manageable
Chief Financial Officer Nick Luff said token costs associated with AI usage remain less than 1% of the company's overall cost base. Relx sees managing those costs for customers as a competitive advantage, supported by how it configures its technology and pre-processes underlying content.
For the full year, Relx expects continued strong underlying revenue growth in Risk, STM and Legal, with profit growth exceeding revenue growth in each division. The company also expects strong growth in adjusted EPS on a constant currency basis.
The guidance raise signals management expects AI-driven demand to sustain its growth trajectory. Investors will watch the Q3 trading update for further evidence of AI platform adoption and margin expansion across the divisions.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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