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* Group returns to pre-pandemic growth levels
* Shares up 2.5% as group lifts outlook
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By Kate Holton
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - The UK's Relx expects
2021 underlying growth rates to be slightly above historical
trends due to strong demand for its analytics and fraud
prevention services, helping the information provider increase
its dividend.
Formerly Reed Elsevier, the group which outperformed the
FTSE 100 index for 10 years after transforming from an
advertising-supported media group to the more stable world of
data and analytics, said it was returning to growth levels seen
before the pandemic.
Relx lifted its interim dividend by 5% after it reported a
4% rise in first-half revenue at constant currency, its recent
historical average. Adjusted operating profit rose 11% to 1
billion pounds.
"We have increased the dividend consistently over many
years, we were able to do so last year, and clearly in
increasing the dividend at this stage, then we would expect to
continue that record," Finance Director Nick Luff told
reporters.
Its growth came from its Risk division, with an underlying
profit increase of 12% driven by demand for digital identity
solutions, fraud prevention analytics and decision tools which
it can run over its extensive data sets.
Its shares rose 2.5%, giving it a value of 40 billion
pounds.
Demand for such tools increased during the pandemic as more
transactions moved online. First-half results were also boosted
by the comparison with a disrupted first-half last year.
The one weakness remained its exhibitions business which
holds conferences and events and accounted for 5% of revenue in
2020, down from 16% in 2019. The division posted an operating
loss of 48 million pounds, down from 66 million pounds last year
after it cut costs.
It said it had held 87 face-to-face events in China, Japan
and more recently the United States and while well received,
restrictions on size have limited revenue.
Relx said it would not resume its share buyback programme in
2021 while its leverage remained above historical average.
($1 = 0.7175 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton
Editing by William Schomberg and David Evans)
