RELX 1st Half Pretax Profit Rises 19%; Backs 2017 Guidance

RELX PLC (REL.LN) reported Thursday a 19% rise in pretax profit for the first half of the year, and backed its 2017 guidance for further growth.

The global information and analytic firm added that it has bought back 500 million pounds ($659.9 million) of shares in the first half of 2017 and plans a further GBP200 million in the second half.

For the half year ended June 30 the Anglo-Dutch firm made a pretax profit of GBP874 million, compared with GBP733 million a year earlier, on revenue that rose to GBP3.72 billion, from GBP3.26 billion.

The board has declared an interim dividend of 11.70 pence for each RELX PLC share and EUR0.132 for each RELX NV share.

Chief Executive Officer Erik Engstrom said the company's business trends are unchanged, and the board is confident to deliver another year of underlying revenue, profit, and earnings growth in 2017.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 27, 2017 02:52 ET (06:52 GMT)