Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 6-K filing by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV (now RELX PLC) was furnished on April 25, 2005. The report discloses a specific corporate action regarding the company's Employee Benefit Trust rather than providing comprehensive financial results for a fiscal period.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing text does not provide clear values for revenue, profit, cash flow, margins, debt, or liquidity. The only financial data disclosed relates to a specific share transaction:
- Shares Purchased: 33,373 American Depositary Shares (ADRs), equivalent to 133,492 ordinary shares.
- Transaction Dates: April 19, 2005, to April 21, 2005.
- Price Range: $40.2040 to $40.5881 per ADR.
- Trust Holdings Post-Transaction: 8,875,473 ordinary shares in Reed Elsevier PLC and 3,780,057 ordinary shares in Reed Elsevier NV.
Material Changes
The material change reported is the increase in shareholdings by the Reed Elsevier Employee Benefit Trust. These purchases were executed to meet future exercise of share option entitlements by employees. Consequently, executive directors are deemed interested in the shares held by the Trust for technical disclosure purposes.
Guidance, Outlook, and Risks
The filing contains no management commentary, financial guidance, outlook, or discussion of risks and contingencies. The document is strictly a notification of directors' interests in shares following the Trust's purchase activity.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Verify the total number of shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust (8,875,473 PLC shares and 3,780,057 NV shares).
- Confirm the average price paid for the recent ADR purchases ($40.20–$40.59 range).
- Review the company's broader share option schemes to understand the future dilution or buyback requirements driven by this Trust.
- Note that this filing does not contain quarterly or annual financial performance data.