Relx (REL) is looking to streamline its corporate profile by this time next year, through dropping its dual parent holding company structure. Management is planning to do this through a merger of Relx’s UK and Dutch businesses, where Dutch shareholders will receive one UK share for every one that they already hold. Chairman Sir Anthony Habgood called the move a “natural next step” for Relx, which, ironically, should help improve transparency at the information and analytics business.
Outside the proposed change to corporate structure, analysts said there were no major divisional surprises in terms of underlying growth or margins, with full-year adjusted operating profits up 6 per cent to £2.23bn. The group is aiming to reduce its reliance on business and consumer print publications by focusing more on offering risk management tools. The strategy appears to be progressing well, as the risk and business analytics division was the fastest-growing segment over the year, with sales up 8 per cent to £2.1bn.
Analysts at Numis expect adjusted pre-tax profits of £2.3bn in the year to December 2018, giving EPS of 86.4p, against £2.1bn and 80p in 2017.
| RELX (REL) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,525p | MARKET VALUE: | £31.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,524.5-1,525p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,784p | LOW: 1,399p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.6% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 114p* | NET DEBT: | 198% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£bn) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 6.04 | 1.20 | 48.8 | 24.6 |
| 2014 | 5.77 | 1.23 | 43.0 | 26.0 |
| 2015 | 5.97 | 1.31 | 46.4 | 29.7 |
| 2016 | 6.90 | 1.47 | 56.3 | 36.0 |
| 2017 | 7.36 | 1.73 | 82.2 | 39.4 |
| % change | +7 | +18 | +46 | +10 |
| Ex-div: | 26 Apr | |||
| Payment: | 22 May | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £9.2bn, or 444p a share | ||||
