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LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - European information provider
Relx said on Thursday it expected its 2022 underlying
growth to be ahead of historical trends after a strong end to
the year enabled it to hike its divided by 6% and launch a new
buyback scheme.
The British company previously called Reed Elsevier has been
one of the most stable and predictable companies on the FTSE 100
after it moved from being a media group supported by volatile
advertising revenues to focus on the world of data analytics.
Having grown revenues by around 3 or 4% in recent years,
prior to the pandemic, it delivered 7% growth in 2021 and said
for 2022 it expected revenue and profit growth to remain above
historical trends.
"We believe that this improved growth trajectory 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," CEO Erik Engstrom said.
That will help it deliver a 500 million pound ($677
million)share buyback in 2022, after it held off from buying
back shares in 2021.
Across its divisions, its Risk unit which provides analytics
products, such as fraud prevention and identity solutions,
posted underlying revenue growth of 9%, while its much smaller
division of Exhibitions rebounded with 44% growth after the
pandemic.
For 2021, it posted adjusted operating profit up 13% to 2.2
billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7387 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Kylie MacLellan and
Michael Holden)