23rd Jul 2020 09:04
(Alliance News) - RELX PLC on Thursday said its earnings for the first half of 2020 were hurt by Covid-19-related disruption to its exhibitions business as it announced an unchanged dividend payout.
Shares in the business publisher & events firm were trading 4.0% lower at 1,694.50 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
For the six months ended June 30, RELX posted revenue of GBP3.50 billion, down 10% from GBP3.89 billion the year prior. Adjusted pretax profit was GBP858 million, plunging 25% from GBP1.14 billion.
The London-based company said its Exhibitions unit - which accounted for 16% of revenue and 13% of adjusted operating profit in 2019 - was hurt significantly by Covid-19 as the pandemic forced countries to block public events and gatherings. In the Exhibitions arm, first-half revenue of GBP201 million was less than a third of GBP684 million last year, and the business swung to an adjusted operating loss of GBP117 million from a profit of GBP231 million.
An interim dividend of 13.6 pence was declared, unchanged from the year prior.
Looking ahead, RELX said the outlook for the remainder of 2020 remains "highly uncertain". It added that it does not intend to resume the suspended 2020 share buyback programme this year.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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