RELX 1st Half Profit Declines; Backs Full-Year Guidance

   By Adria Calatayud 
 

RELX PLC (REL.LN) said Thursday that first-half net profit declined 0.6% due to lower revenue and that it backed its guidance for the full year.

The company behind medical journal the Lancet and the London Book Fair said it plans to buy back shares worth 200 million pounds ($263.3 million) in the second half of 2018, after purchasing GBP500 million in shares in the first half.

Net profit for the first six months of 2018 was GBP678 million compared with GBP682 million in the year-earlier period, the company said. Underlying operating profit rose 6% in the first half, the company said.

RELX generated revenue of GBP3.65 billion in the first half, down 1.4% from GBP3.72 billion a year earlier, it said.

The board raised its interim dividend by 6% to 12.4 pence a RELX PLC share and 14 European cents for each RELX NV share.

The company said it continued to expect underlying growth in revenue and adjusted operating profit, together with adjusted earning-per-share growth at constant currency. Key business trends remain unchanged, RELX said.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled plans to unify its dual holding structure into a single company. The simplification is expected to be effective Sept. 8, the company said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2018 02:53 ET (06:53 GMT)

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