REG-RELX PLC TRADING UPDATE – October 2020

RelxAnnouncement

22/10/2020 07:00

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TRADING UPDATE – October 2020

 

7.00am BST

22 October 2020

TRADING UPDATE – October 2020

RELX, the global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools,
comments on trading in the first nine months of 2020 and the outlook for the
full year.
 Highlights                                                                       
 
                                                                                
 
*Our three largest business areas, STM, Risk and Legal, which together          
 accounted for 84% of revenue and 87% of adjusted operating profit in 2019,       
 have continued to see a gradual improvement in underlying revenue growth rates   
 since the end of the first half.                                                 
 
*Exhibitions, which accounted for 16% of revenue and 13% of adjusted operating  
 profit in 2019, has seen a reopening of event activity in a limited number of    
 countries.                                                                       
 
*Our operating cash conversion remains strong, and in the first nine months we  
 acquired ten assets for a total consideration of £821m.                          
 
                                                                                
 Full year outlook                                                                
 
                                                                                
 
*The full year outlook for our three largest business areas, STM, Risk and      
 Legal, remains unchanged, and we now have greater visibility on the impact of    
 COVID-19 on Exhibitions in 2020.                                                 


Scientific, Technical & Medical


 * Underlying revenue growth YTD +2%.

 * Electronic revenues, which represent around 85% of the divisional total,
continued to grow well, driven by expansion of analytical products supporting
research, evaluation of science, medical education and clinical decision
making.

 * In primary research we have continued to see strong growth in the number of
article submissions for both our subscription and open access journals, and
growth in author-pays open access revenue remains very strong.

 * Print book revenues, which represent just under 10% of the divisional total,
have seen their rate of decline moderate, but remain higher than historical
averages for the year to date as we enter the important fourth quarter.

 * Full year outlook: We expect another year of modest underlying revenue growth.

Risk & Business Analytics


 * Underlying revenue growth YTD +3%.

 * Transactional revenues, which represent around 60% of the divisional total,
have continued to see improved growth rates in both Insurance and Business
Services since the end of the first half.

 * Subscription revenues, which represent around 40% of the divisional total,
remained resilient overall, albeit with some delays in customer product
implementations, and with end customer markets showing varying dynamics.

 * Recent acquisitions in the fraud prevention and digital identity segments,
including ThreatMetrix and Emailage, have continued to grow very strongly,
with the launch of products combining new data sets progressing as planned.

 * Full year outlook: The current underlying revenue growth run rate is slightly
over half the rate seen in recent years, with the full year outcome dependent
on the rate of improvement in business activity in the remainder of the year.

Legal


 * Underlying revenue growth YTD +1%.

 * Good growth in electronic revenues, which represent around 85% of the
divisional total, continued, driven by further development and roll-out of
legal analytics solutions and new integrated functionality including the
recent Lexis+ launch.

 * The rate of print revenue decline has moderated following the disruption
earlier in the year, but year to date remains higher than historical rates.

 * Full year outlook: We expect another year of modest underlying revenue growth.

Exhibitions


 * Total revenue decline YTD -70%.

 * The business has been significantly impacted by COVID-19 since March, with
government restrictions preventing most events from taking place in Europe and
the Americas before the end of the year.

 * Exhibitions are now running in China, Japan and a few other countries.
Although revenue from most events is lower than from prior editions,
satisfaction measures for both exhibitors and visitors are generally higher.

 * We have continued to develop and launch a range of new digital initiatives in
support of our customers and event brands, and have made good progress on both
hybrid and digital-only events.

 * Full year outlook: We now expect full year revenue of £330m-£360m. After a
range of cost initiatives, total costs for the year are expected to be
£530m-£540m excluding one-off costs related to restructuring and
cancellations.

Underlying growth rates are calculated at constant currencies, excluding the
results of acquisitions until twelve months after purchase, and excluding the
results of disposals and assets held for sale. Underlying revenue growth rates
also exclude exhibition cycling, and timing effects. Given the extent of event
postponements and cancellations, underlying measures are not meaningful for
Exhibitions in the current period, and hence not for the group as a whole. The
growth rate for Exhibitions is calculated at constant currencies

-ENDS-
 ENQUIRIES:  Colin Tennant (Investors)  Paul Abrahams (Media)  
 
           
                          
                      
             +44 (0)20 7166 5751        +44 (0)20 7166 5724    
                                        
                      
                                                               


Disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of
the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes
of RELX PLC (together with its subsidiaries, “RELX”, “we” or
“our”) to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking
statement. We consider any statements that are not historical facts to be
“forward-looking statements”. The terms “outlook”, “estimate”,
“forecast”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “expect”,
“should”, “will”, “believe”, “trends” and similar expressions
may indicate a forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from estimates or forecasts
contained in the forward-looking statements include, among others: current and
future economic, political and market forces; the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic as well as other pandemics or epidemics; changes in law and legal
interpretations affecting RELX intellectual property rights and internet
communications; regulatory and other changes regarding the collection,
transfer or use of third-party content and data; changes in the payment model
for our products; demand for RELX products and services and competitive
factors in the industries in which RELX operates; ability to realise the
future anticipated benefits of acquisitions; significant failure or
interruption of our systems; exhibitors’ and attendees’ ability and desire
to attend face-to-face events and availability of event venues; compromises of
our data security systems or other unauthorised access to our databases;
legislative, fiscal, tax and regulatory developments and political risks;
exchange rate fluctuations; and other risks referenced from time to time in
the filings of RELX PLC with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. You
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as may be required by
law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to
these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the
date of this announcement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.

Notes for Editors

About RELX

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools
for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more
than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than
33,000 people of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX
PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York
stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam:
REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately
£32bn/€35bn/$42bn.



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