RELX PLC — FY2023 Form 20-F Summary
Reporting period: Fiscal year ended December 31, 2023; filed February 22, 2024. This is an annual report, not a standalone 2023 Q4 report. Financial statements are prepared under IFRS as issued by the IASB and reported in pounds sterling.
Business context and financial performance
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools, operating in Risk, Scientific, Technical & Medical (STM), Legal, and Exhibitions. It serves customers in more than 180 countries.
| Metric | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £9,161m; +7% reported, +8% underlying | £8,553m |
| Reported operating profit | £2,682m; +15% | £2,323m |
| Adjusted operating profit | £3,030m; +13% | £2,683m |
| Reported / adjusted operating margin | 29.3% / 33.1% | 27.2% / 31.4% |
| Profit before tax | £2,295m; +9% | £2,113m |
| Net profit attributable to shareholders | £1,781m; +9% | £1,634m |
| Adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders | £2,156m; +10% | £1,961m |
| Reported / adjusted EPS | 94.1p / 114.0p | 85.2p / 102.2p |
| Cash generated from operations | £3,370m | £3,061m |
| Net debt at year-end | £6,446m | £6,604m |
Revenue was 54% subscriptions and 46% transactional. Electronic revenue was 83% of total; face-to-face exhibitions contributed 12% and print 5%. North America represented 59% of revenue.
Segments and material changes
- Risk: Revenue £3,133m (+8%); adjusted operating profit £1,165m (+8%). Growth in compliance, fraud and identity, insurance, industry data, and government analytics.
- STM: Revenue £3,062m (+5% reported; +4% underlying); adjusted operating profit £1,165m (+6% reported). Analytics and tools grew; open-access, pay-to-publish articles continued to increase.
- Legal: Revenue £1,851m (+4% reported; +6% underlying); adjusted operating profit £393m (+6%). Growth improved with legal analytics and customer adoption of Lexis+; Lexis+ AI launched commercially in October 2023.
- Exhibitions: Revenue £1,115m (+17% reported); adjusted operating profit £319m (+97%). Higher in-person activity and a lower-cost event portfolio supported margins; reported growth was affected by exhibition cycling.
Overall, reported costs rose 4%, slower than revenue. Adjusted operating margin expanded 1.7 percentage points. Reported net finance costs increased to £315m from £201m, reflecting higher average interest rates and a £26m charge for early bond redemption. The tax charge was £507m, including non-recurring credits from resolution of historical tax matters; cash taxes paid were £619m.
Cash, debt, liquidity, and shareholder returns
Cash and cash equivalents were £155m at year-end, compared with £334m in 2022. Net debt decreased to £6,446m, partly due to currency translation; excluding that effect, net debt increased £26m. The Group issued €750m of eight-year debt at a 3.75% coupon in June 2023. Its $3.0bn committed bank facility, extended to April 2026, was undrawn at year-end. Short-term debt was £1,256m; contractual debt payments were £1,460m due within one year, including principal and interest.
Capitalised development spending was £447m, up from £400m, reflecting continued investment in products. Dividends paid rose to £1,059m. The proposed final dividend increased to 41.8p per share; total 2023 dividends were 58.8p per share, up 8%. RELX repurchased 30.9m shares for £800m in 2023. The company announced a further £850m buyback intention for the remainder of 2024.
Outlook, risks, contingencies, and unusual items
The filing provides no specific numerical earnings or revenue forecast. Management describes continued underlying growth across the four segments and identifies customer renewals, product usage and pricing, digital migration, new-product investment, cost control, customer budgets, competition, and regulation as important trends. Its long-term capital-management objectives include cash-flow conversion of 90% or higher and maintaining a solid investment-grade credit profile.
- Key risks include privacy and data-protection rules, cybersecurity and service interruptions, intellectual-property challenges including from AI, competition and technology change, STM payment-model shifts, acquisition execution, economic and geopolitical conditions, foreign exchange, interest rates, tax, pension assumptions, and reliance on third parties.
- Privacy-related proceedings and investigations have resulted in settlements and ongoing compliance monitoring. The company says pending legal matters are not expected to materially affect its financial position or results; insurance and third-party indemnities cover a substantial portion of certain payments.
- Uncertain tax positions of £173m were identified as a critical audit matter, involving judgment across jurisdictions and transfer pricing.
- Other 2023 items affecting comparisons included lower acquired-intangible amortisation, a £26m bond-redemption charge, an impairment charge on certain Risk assets held for sale, and a net downward valuation of the Ventures portfolio.
- Iran-related revenue was approximately £1.9m in 2023; estimated related net profit was 0.02% of reported net profit.
Ernst & Young issued an unqualified opinion on the financial statements and an unqualified opinion on internal control over financial reporting. Management reported disclosure controls and financial-reporting controls effective at December 31, 2023.
Important facts for investors to verify
- Review the full audited statements and notes incorporated from the 2023 Annual Report, especially cash-flow detail, debt maturities, pension obligations, and adjusted-to-IFRS reconciliations.
- Assess whether underlying growth and margin gains persist, particularly in Legal analytics, STM, and the post-pandemic Exhibitions portfolio.
- Track refinancing costs and short-term maturities against the undrawn facility, cash balance, and the stated investment-grade objectives.
- Evaluate the sustainability of dividends and buybacks alongside £447m of capitalised development investment and the £850m 2024 buyback intention.
- Monitor the £173m uncertain-tax-position provision and developments in privacy, cybersecurity, AI-related intellectual property, and STM publishing models.