Relx H1 Earnings Call Highlights

Relx delivered a strong first half , with underlying revenue up 7%, adjusted operating profit up 9%, and adjusted EPS rising 11% at constant currency. The company also raised its interim dividend 7% and completed most of its planned share buyback. AI-enabled products were a major growth driver across Risk, STM, and Legal, with management highlighting rising adoption of tools like LeapSpace and Lexis+ with Protégé. Relx said these platforms are helping shift the business toward higher-value analytics and decision tools. Full-year guidance remains positive , with the company expecting continued strong underlying revenue growth in Risk, STM and Legal, and strong growth in Exhibitions aside from uncertainty tied to Middle East events. Management also said profit growth should continue to outpace revenue growth in several divisions.

Relx NYSE: RELX reported stronger first-half results, with management pointing to broad-based growth across its four divisions and continued momentum from AI-enabled analytics and decision tools. Chief Executive Erik Engstrom said underlying revenue grew 7% in the first half, while underlying adjusted operating profit rose 9%. Adjusted earnings per share increased 11% at constant currency. Engstrom said all four business areas “continued to perform well,” with Risk maintaining strong growth, STM stepping up to strong growth, Legal posting a further acceleration, and Exhibitions continuing to grow despite some event-related disruption. Chief Financial Officer Nick Luff said the group’s adjusted operating margin improved by 70 basis points to 35.5%. Cash conversion was 98%, and leverage stood at 2.3 times net debt to EBITDA at the end of June.

Relx increased its interim dividend by 7% to GBP 0.209 per share.

Luff said the company spent GBP 103 million on two acquisitions in the first half and completed GBP 1.75 billion of its planned GBP 2.25 billion share buyback program for the year. Total free cash flow was more than GBP 1.1 billion, while net debt stood at GBP 8.7 billion at the end of June.

Risk, STM and Legal Drive Profit Growth Ahead of Revenue Engstrom said the Risk division delivered 8% underlying revenue growth and 10% underlying adjusted operating profit growth. He attributed the performance to “deeply embedded AI-enabled analytics and decision tools,” supported by contributory and proprietary data sets. More than 90% of Risk revenue comes from machine-to-machine interactions, he said. Within Risk, Business Services, which accounts for more than 40% of divisional revenue, continued to benefit from demand for financial crime compliance and digital fraud and identity solutions. Insurance, also around 40% of divisional revenue, saw growth from broader adoption of contributory databases and market-specific solutions.

STM revenue rose 6% on an underlying basis, while underlying adjusted operating profit increased 8%. Engstrom said growth was supported by a shift toward higher-growth, higher-value analytics and decision tools, as well as new product introductions. He cited continued rollout and usage growth of AI-enabled tools, including LeapSpace, which he described as a “research-grade AI workspace” that has been positively received by customers. In primary research, Relx said article submissions grew more than 20% in the first half, while the number of articles published increased 7%, in line with the company’s long-term average. In response to an analyst question, Engstrom said submissions may moderate over time to low double-digit growth, but he expects strong volume growth to continue for years. He said Relx is becoming “more selective” in what it publishes as part of its quality positioning.

Legal posted 10% underlying revenue growth and 13% underlying adjusted operating ...