As reported by RELX:
- Revenue £4,871m (£4,741m); underlying growth +7%.
- Adjusted operating profit £1,727m (£1,652m); underlying growth +9%: Continuous process innovation to manage cost growth below revenue growth led to an improvement in the group adjusted operating margin to 35.5% (34.8%).
- Reported operating profit £1,585m (£1,490m): Reported operating profit includes amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £118m (£123m).
- Adjusted profit before tax £1,589m (£1,515m): The adjusted net interest expense was £138m (£137m). The average interest rate on gross debt was 3.6% (4.1%).
- Reported profit before tax £1,523m (£1,283m). Reported net interest was £105m (£210m).
- Tax: The adjusted tax charge was £362m (£341m). The adjusted effective tax rate was 22.8% (22.5%). The reported tax charge was £348m (£304m).
- Adjusted EPS 68.6p (63.5p); constant currency growth +11%.
- Reported EPS 65.7p (52.9p).
- Dividend: We are declaring an interim dividend of 20.9p (19.5p), an increase of +7%.
- Portfolio development: In the first half of 2026 we completed two acquisitions for a total consideration of £103m, and one small disposal.
- Net debt/EBITDA 2.3x (2.2x): Net debt at 30 June 2026 was £8,733m (£7,443m). Adjusted cash flow conversion was 98% (100%).
- Share buybacks: Of the previously announced £2,250m share buyback, £1,750m was completed in the first half. A further £100m has been completed since 1 July, and the remaining £400m will be deployed before the end of the year.
- Corporate responsibility: RELX retains a AAA MSCI ESG rating which it has held for eleven consecutive years, is ranked in the top 1% of over 14,000 companies globally by Sustainalytics, and is a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series.
Chief Executive Officer Erik Engstrom commented: “RELX delivered strong underlying revenue and profit growth and strong new sales in the first half of 2026: continued strong growth in Risk; a step up in growth in Scientific, Technical & Medical; a further step up in growth in Legal; and strong ongoing growth in Exhibitions.
“Our improving long-term growth trajectory continues to be driven by the ongoing shift in business mix towards higher growth analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers. We continue to develop these products by leveraging deep customer understanding to combine our unique content and comprehensive data sets with advanced technologies.
“The ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence is enabling us to add more value to our customers, to develop and launch higher value-add products at a faster pace, and continue to manage cost growth below revenue growth. This evolution has been a key driver of our business for well over a decade, and will remain a key driver of customer value and growth in our business for many years to come.”
The full report can be read here.
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