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Investing.com -- Shares of RELX PLC (LSE:REL) climbed 1.5% as the information and analytics company reported its full-year 2024 results, which were broadly in line with expectations, accompanied by a larger-than-expected share buyback announcement.
The company’s revenue for the year stood at £9,434 million, closely matching the consensus estimate of £9,545 million and showing consistent underlying growth across its divisions.
The adjusted EBITA was slightly below consensus at £3,199 million, a 1% deviation from the expected £3,219 million, yet the company achieved a marginally stronger margin of 33.9% compared to the 33.7% consensus. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) also saw a minor dip at 120.1p against the anticipated 120.9p, while the dividend per share outperformed expectations at 63p versus the forecasted 62.2p.
Division-wise, the company’s Scientific, Technical & Medical (TASE:PMCN) (STM) segment grew by 4%, in line with predictions, despite an accelerated decline in print, offset by robust growth in article submissions. The Risk division experienced an 8% growth, benefiting from favorable market conditions in insurance and strong new sales in Business Services. Legal and Exhibitions divisions also met expectations with 7% and 11% growth, respectively.
A key highlight from the announcement was RELX’s declaration of a £1.5 billion share buyback for 2025, surpassing the top end of market expectations, which ranged around £1.05 billion to £1.4 billion. This move is seen as a vote of confidence in the company’s financial strength and future prospects.
In response to the announcement, analysts from Bank of America (BofA) commented, "The key positive surprise is likely to be the £1.5bn buyback declared for 2025, likely coming in above the top end of consensus expectations.
We expect few changes to consensus in the wake of the statement but remain confident in our thesis of accelerating revenue growth in STM and Legal divisions (c.50% of sales) in 2025 driving further re-rating. RELX is one of our ’25 stocks for 2025’ and part of our Europe 1 list of top ideas."
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