RLXXF RELX PLC (PK)

​

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

February 2025

Commission File Number: 001-13334

RELX PLC

​

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

1-3 Strand

London

WC2N 5JR

​

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:  ☒Form 20-F  ☐ Form 40-F

​

​

EXHIBIT INDEX

​

​

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

​

​

​

13 February 2025

RESULTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31 DECEMBER 2024

RELX, the global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools, reports results for 2024.

Chief Executive Officer, Erik Engstrom, commented:

“RELX delivered strong revenue and profit growth in 2024. Our improving long-term growth trajectory continues to be driven by the ongoing shift in business mix towards higher growth analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers across market segments.”

“We develop and deploy these tools across the company by leveraging deep customer understanding to combine leading content and data sets with powerful artificial intelligence and other technologies. This has been a key driver of the evolution of our business for well over a decade, and will remain a key driver of customer value and growth in our business for many years to come.”

​

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 2

Operating and financial review

Revenue £9,434m (£9,161m); underlying growth +7%: Electronic revenue representing 83% of the total, also grew +7%, with the strong growth in face-to-face activity offsetting the print decline.

Adjusted operating profit £3,199m (£3,030m); underlying growth +10%: Our strategy of driving continuous process innovation to manage cost growth below revenue growth led to an improvement in the group adjusted operating margin to 33.9% (33.1%).

Reported operating profit £2,861m (£2,682m): Reported operating profit includes amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £258m (£280m).

Adjusted profit before tax £2,903m (£2,716m): The adjusted net interest expense was £296m (£314m). The average interest rate on gross debt was 4.4% (4.6%).

Reported profit before tax £2,557m (£2,295m). Reported net interest was £298m (£315m).

Tax: The adjusted tax charge was £652m (£553m). The adjusted effective tax rate was 22.5% (20.4%). The reported tax charge was £613m (£507m).

Adjusted EPS 120.1p (114.0p) +5%; constant currency growth +9%.

Reported EPS 103.6p (94.1p).

Dividend: We are proposing a full year dividend of 63.0p (58.8p), an increase of +7%.

Portfolio development: In 2024 we completed five small acquisitions for a total consideration of £195m, and seven small disposals for a total consideration of £95m.

Net debt/EBITDA 1.8x (2.0x): Net debt at 31 December 2024 was £6,563m (£6,446m). EBITDA was £3,724m (£3,544m). Adjusted cash flow conversion was 97% (98%).

Share buybacks: We deployed £1,000m on share buybacks in 2024. In recognition of our strong financial position and cash flow we intend to deploy a total of £1,500m on share buybacks in 2025, of which £150m has already been completed.

Corporate responsibility and sustainability: We performed well on our corporate responsibility priorities in 2024, on our unique contributions to society, and on our key metrics. Our performance was again recognised by external agencies: RELX achieved a AAA MSCI rating for a ninth consecutive year, ranked second in our sector by Sustainalytics, and was included in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook.

​

RELX 2024 | Results 3

Operating and financial review

RELX FINANCIAL SUMMARY

​

RELX uses adjusted figures as additional performance measures. Adjusted figures primarily exclude the amortisation of acquired intangible assets and other items related to acquisitions and disposals, and the associated deferred tax movements. Underlying growth rates are calculated at constant currency, excluding the results of acquisitions until twelve months after purchase, and excluding the results of disposals and assets held for sale. Underlying revenue growth rates also exclude exhibition cycling, and timing effects. Constant currency growth rates are based on 2023 full-year average and hedge exchange rates.

DISCLAIMER REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes of RELX PLC (together with its subsidiaries, “RELX”, “we” or “our”) to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. We consider any statements that are not historical facts to be “forward-looking statements”. The terms “outlook”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “expect”, “should”, “could”, “will”, “believe”, “trends” and similar expressions may indicate a forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from estimates or forecasts contained in the forward-looking statements include, among others: regulatory and other changes regarding the collection or use of personal data; changes in law and legal interpretation affecting our intellectual property rights and internet communications; current and future geopolitical, economic and market conditions; research integrity issues or changes in the payment model for our scientific, technical and medical research products; competitive factors in the industries in which we operate and demand for our products and services; our inability to realise the future anticipated benefits of acquisitions; compromises of our cybersecurity systems or other unauthorised access to our databases; changes in economic cycles, trading relations, communicable disease epidemics or pandemics, severe weather events, natural disasters and terrorism; failure of third parties to whom we have outsourced business activities; significant failure or interruption of our systems; our inability to retain high-quality employees and management; changes in tax laws and uncertainty in their application; exchange rate fluctuations; adverse market conditions or downgrades to the credit ratings of our debt; changes in the market values of defined benefit pension scheme assets and in the market related assumptions used to value scheme liabilities; breaches of generally accepted ethical business standards or applicable laws; and other risks referenced from time to time in the filings of RELX PLC with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as may be required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 4

Operating and financial review

BUSINESS AREA ANALYSIS

​

Underlying growth rates are calculated at constant currency, excluding the results of acquisitions until twelve months after purchase, and excluding the results of disposals and assets held for sale. Underlying revenue growth rates also exclude exhibition cycling, and timing effects. Constant currency growth rates are based on 2023 full-year average and hedge exchange rates.

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 5

Operating and financial review

Risk

99% of revenue electronic

​

Strong fundamentals continuing to drive underlying revenue growth.

Underlying revenue growth of +8%. Strong growth continues to be driven across segments by our deeply embedded, AI-enabled analytics and decision tools.

Underlying adjusted operating profit growth was +9%, leading to an increase in adjusted operating margin.

Business Services growth continued to be driven by Financial Crime Compliance and digital Fraud & Identity solutions, with strong new sales.

Insurance growth was driven by the further extension of solution sets across insurance markets, as well as continued positive market factors and new sales.

Specialised Industry Data Services growth was led by Commodity Intelligence, and Government growth continued to be driven by the development and roll-out of analytics and decision tools.

2025 outlook: We expect continued strong underlying revenue growth with underlying adjusted operating profit growth slightly exceeding underlying revenue growth.

​

RELX 2024 | Results 6

Operating and financial review

Scientific, Technical & Medical

91% of revenue electronic

Development of analytics continuing to drive underlying revenue growth.

Underlying revenue growth was +4%. Good growth continues to be driven by the evolution of the business mix, with higher growth segments representing an increasing proportion of divisional revenue, and remaining print shrinking at a faster pace than historical averages.

Underlying adjusted operating profit growth was +5%, resulting in an increase in adjusted operating margin.

Databases, Tools & Electronic Reference growth continued to be driven by higher value-add analytics and decision tools.

Primary Research growth continued to be driven by volume growth, with article submissions growing very strongly across the portfolio, particularly in pay-to-publish.

2025 outlook: We expect continued good underlying revenue growth with underlying adjusted operating profit growth slightly exceeding underlying revenue growth.

​

RELX 2024 | Results 7

Operating and financial review

Legal

91% of revenue electronic

Further improvement in underlying revenue growth driven by legal analytics.

Underlying revenue growth improved to +7%. Strong growth continues to be driven by the shift in business mix towards higher growth, higher value legal analytics and tools.

Underlying adjusted operating profit growth was +9%, as we continue to manage underlying cost growth below underlying revenue growth, leading to a further improvement in adjusted operating margin.

Lexis+, our integrated platform leveraging extractive AI, continued to perform well. Lexis+ AI, additionally leveraging generative AI, continued its successful roll-out in the US and launched in international markets. Protégé, our recently launched next generation generative AI legal assistant, has been positively received by customers.

Government & Academic and News & Business growth continued to be driven by the further extension of analytics and decision tools.

Renewals and new sales remain strong across all key segments.

2025 outlook: We expect continued strong underlying revenue growth with underlying adjusted operating profit growth exceeding underlying revenue growth.

​

RELX 2024 | Results 8

Operating and financial review

Exhibitions

7% of revenue electronic

Strong underlying revenue growth and profitability improvement.

Underlying revenue growth was +11%, reflecting the improved growth profile of our event portfolio and a favourable first half comparison to the prior year.

We continue to make good progress on value-enhancing digital initiatives, with increased usage of a growing range of digital tools for the customers of our face-to-face events.

The improvement in profitability reflects the structurally lower cost base of the streamlined event portfolio.

2025 outlook: We expect strong underlying revenue growth with an improvement in adjusted operating margin over the prior full year.

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 9

Operating and financial review

Revenue

​

Group underlying revenue growth was 7% with all four market segments contributing to underlying growth. The underlying growth rate reflects growth in electronic revenue of 7% with strong growth in face-to-face revenues offsetting the print decline. Risk continued to deliver strong growth, STM maintained its improved growth, Legal growth continued to improve and Exhibitions saw strong growth.

At group level, the impact on revenue of disposals more than offset that of acquisitions and the benefit of exhibition cycling effects, giving total revenue growth at constant currency of 6%. The impact of currency movements was to decrease revenue by 3%. Total revenue, including the effects of acquisitions, disposals, exhibition cycling and currency movements, was £9,434m (2023: £9,161m), up 3%.

Profit

​

Group underlying growth in adjusted operating profit was 10%, with growth in each of Risk, STM and Legal ahead of revenue growth, and the improvement in profitability in Exhibitions, well ahead of revenue growth, reflecting the lower cost structure.

​

Acquisitions and disposals combined decreased adjusted operating profit growth, giving growth at constant currency of 9%. Currency effects decreased adjusted operating profit by 3%.

Total adjusted operating profit, including the impact of acquisitions and disposals and currency effects, was £3,199m (2023: £3,030m), up 6%.

​

Operating costs on an underlying basis grew 6%, reflecting investment in global technology platforms, the launch of new products and services and the increased activity levels within Exhibitions, partly offset by the benefits of continued process innovation. Actions continue to be taken across the group to improve cost-efficiency. Total adjusted operating costs, including the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currency effects, were up 2%.

​

The overall adjusted operating margin was 33.9% (2023: 33.1%). On an underlying basis, including cycling effects, the margin improved by 0.8 percentage points, while portfolio changes improved margins by 0.1 percentage points and currency movements decreased margins by 0.1 percentage points. EBITDA margin also improved, by 0.8 percentage points, to 39.5%.

​

Reported operating profit was £2,861m (2023: £2,682m) up 7%, primarily reflecting the increase in adjusted operating profit and a lower amortisation charge in respect of acquired intangible assets.

​

Adjusted net interest expense was £296m (2023: £314m). In 2023, the adjusted interest expense included a charge of £26m in respect of the early redemption of bonds.

​

Adjusted profit before tax was £2,903m (2023: £2,716m), up 7%. Reported profit before tax was £2,557m (2023: £2,295m) up 11%, reflecting the improvement in reported operating profit, the lower interest expense, and the prior year including an impairment charge for some assets held for sale.

​

The amortisation charge in respect of acquired intangible assets, including the share of amortisation in joint ventures and associates, was £258m (2023: £280m).

​

Acquisition and disposal related costs were £69m (2023: £56m), slightly higher than the prior year due to restructuring costs incurred following the disposal of some of our assets.

RELX 2024 | Results 10

Operating and financial review

The adjusted tax charge was £652m (2023: £553m). The adjusted effective tax rate was 22.5% (2023: 20.4%), with the prior year benefitting from non-recurring tax credits arising from the resolution of certain historical tax matters. The adjusted tax charge excludes movements in deferred taxation assets and liabilities related to goodwill and acquired intangible assets, but includes the benefit of tax amortisation where available on those items.

​

Adjusted operating profit from joint ventures and associates is grossed up for our equity share of interest and taxation.

​

The application of tax law and practice is subject to some uncertainty and amounts are provided in respect of this. Discussions with tax authorities relating to cross-border transactions and other matters are ongoing. Although the outcome of open items cannot be predicted, no significant impact on profitability is expected.

​

The reported tax charge was £613m (2023: £507m), including tax associated with the amortisation of acquired intangible assets, disposals and other non-operating items.

​

The adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders was £2,241m (2023: £2,156m), up 4%. Adjusted earnings per share was up 9% at constant currency, and after changes in exchange rates was up 5% at 120.1p (2023: 114.0p).

​

The reported net profit attributable to shareholders was £1,934m (2023: £1,781m) up 9%. Reported earnings per share was 103.6p (2023: 94.1p) up 10%.

​

Cash flows

​

*Net of sublease receipts.

​

Adjusted cash flow was £3,101m (2023: £2,962m), up 5% compared with the prior period. The rate of conversion of adjusted operating profit to adjusted cash flow was 97% (2023: 98%).

​

Capital expenditure was £484m (2023: £477m), including £464m (2023: £447m) in respect of capitalised development costs, reflecting sustained investment in new products. Capital expenditure was 5.1% of revenue (2023: 5.2%) and excludes pre-publication costs of £92m (2023: £93m) that were capitalised as current assets and principal lease repayments of £61m (2023: £70m). Depreciation and other amortisation charged within adjusted operating profit was £525m (2023: £514m) and represented 5.6% of revenue (2023: 5.6%). This includes amortisation of internally developed intangible assets of £364m (2023: £330m) and depreciation of property, plant and equipment of £34m (2023: £43m) which combined represent 4.2% (2023: 4.1%) of revenue.

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 11

Operating and financial review

​

​

* Net of cash tax relief on acquisition and disposal related items and including cash tax impact of disposals.

​

Interest paid (net) was £251m (2023: £294m), decreasing mainly as a result of the lower interest expense and timing of payments. Tax paid of £662m (2023: £619m) was higher than the income statement charge, with the difference reflecting timing of tax payments.

​

Payments made in respect of acquisition and disposal related items amounted to £62m (2023: £56m).

​

Free cash flow before dividends was £2,126m (2023: £1,988m). Ordinary dividends paid to shareholders in the year, being the 2023 final dividend and 2024 interim dividend, amounted to £1,121m (2023: £1,059m). Free cash flow after dividends was £1,005m (2023: £929m).

​

* Includes pension deficit recovery payments, share option exercise proceeds, leases, disposal and acquisition timing effects.

​

Total consideration on acquisitions completed in the year was £195m (2023: £130m). Cash spent on acquisitions was £175m (2023: £132m), including deferred consideration of £5m (2023: £16m) on past acquisitions and investments in joint ventures and associates and venture capital investments of £4m (2023: £8m). Total consideration from disposals completed in the year was £95m (2023: nil). Net cash inflow from disposals after separation and transaction costs was £46m (2023: £12m).

​

Share repurchases in 2024 were £1,000m (2023: £800m) with a further £150m repurchased in 2025 as at 12 February. In addition, the Employee Benefit Trust purchased shares of RELX PLC to meet future obligations in respect of share based remuneration totalling £75m (2023: £50m). Proceeds from the exercise of share options were £47m (2023: £41m).

​

RELX 2024 | Results 12

Operating and financial review

Debt

​

Net debt at 31 December 2024 was £6,563m, an increase of £117m since 31 December 2023. Excluding currency translation effects, net debt increased by £163m. Expressed in US dollars, net debt at 31 December 2024 was $8,204m, a decrease of $47m since 31 December 2023.

​

Gross debt of £6,544m (2023: £6,497m) is comprised of bank and bond borrowings of £6,441m (2023: £6,356m) and lease liabilities of £103m (2023: £141m). The fair value of related derivative liabilities was £140m (2023: £108m), finance lease receivables totalled £2m (2023: £4m) and cash and cash equivalents totalled £119m (2023: £155m). In aggregate, these give the net debt figure of £6,563m (2023: £6,446m).

​

The effective interest rate on gross bank and bond borrowings was 4.4% in 2024 (2023: 4.6%). As at 31 December 2024, gross bank and bond borrowings had a weighted average life remaining of 4.1 years and a total of 56% of them were at fixed rates, after taking into account interest rate derivatives. The ratio of net debt (including pensions) to EBITDA (adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was 1.8x (2023: 2.0x), calculated in US dollars.

​

At 31 December 2024, there was a net positive pension accounting balance (pension assets less pension obligations) of £21m, compared to a net negative position of £63m as at 31 December 2023 as liabilities have reduced due to an increase in discount rates.

​

Liquidity

​

In March 2024, €850m of euro denominated term debt was issued with a coupon of 3.375% and a maturity of nine years. The Group has ample liquidity and access to debt capital markets, providing the ability to repay or refinance debt as it matures and to fund ongoing requirements. This includes access to a $3bn committed bank facility which provides security of funding for short-term debt, and which remains undrawn. In March 2024 the maturity date of the facility was extended to April 2027. The facility has pricing linked to three Corporate Responsibility performance targets, all of which were achieved in 2024.

​

Invested capital and returns

​

The post-tax return on average invested capital in the year was 14.8% (2023: 14.0%). The increase was driven by growth in adjusted operating profit, and lower average invested capital when retranslated at the average exchange rates for the year.

​

*Average of invested capital at the beginning and the end of the year, retranslated at average exchange rates for the year. Invested capital is calculated as net capital employed, adjusted to add back accumulated amortisation and impairment of acquired intangible assets and goodwill and to exclude the gross up to goodwill in respect of deferred tax.

​

​

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 13

Operating and financial review

Dividends and share repurchases

​

The final dividend proposed by the Board is 44.8p per share. This gives total dividends for the year of 63.0p (2023: 58.8p), 7% higher than the prior year.

​

The dividend policy of RELX PLC is, over the longer term, to grow dividends broadly in line with adjusted earnings per share, paying out approximately half of adjusted earnings in dividend each year.

​

During 2024, a total of 28.9m RELX PLC shares were repurchased at an average price of 3,461p. Total consideration for these repurchases was £1,000m. A further 2.2m (2023: 2.0m) shares were purchased by the Employee Benefit Trust. As at 31 December 2024, total shares in issue, net of shares held in treasury and shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust, amounted to 1,855.9m. A further 3.8m shares have been repurchased in 2025 as at 12 February.

​

Alternative performance measures

​

RELX uses a range of alternative performance measures (APMs) in the reporting of financial information, which are not defined by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) such as IFRS. These APMs are used by the Board and management as they believe they provide relevant information in assessing the Group’s performance, position and cash flows, enable investors to track more clearly the core operational performance of the Group, and provide a clear basis for assessing RELX’s ability to raise debt and invest in new business opportunities.

​

Management also uses these financial measures, along with IFRS financial measures, in evaluating the operating performance of the Group as a whole and of the individual business areas. These measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information presented in compliance with IFRS. The measures may not be directly comparable to similarly reported measures by other companies.

​

Definitions of alternative performance measures can be found on page 30.

​

Corporate responsibility

​

We progressed our unique contributions to society in a number of ways, including by increasing the amount of content on the free RELX SDG Resource Centre by 20% in the year. This encompassed 14 special issues – curated articles, book chapters and other content on key topics; among them was an artificial intelligence collection to coincide with the 2024 RELX SDG Inspiration Day, In the Age of AI, a virtual programme featuring 8th UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and founder of The Futurewise Institute, Dr. Mark van Rijmenam among other speakers.

​

The CFO chairs our Environmental Checkpoint group which met regularly in 2024 to advance key metrics including Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. We maintained 100% of electricity from renewable sources, green tariffs, and certified renewable energy certificates. As we progress net zero plans, our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 (location-based) emissions were 32,692 tCO2e (40,933 tCO2e in 2023), continuing a downward trend. We increased the number of suppliers who are signatories to our Supplier Code of Conduct by 13.8% and our employees volunteered 16,149 days in company time.

​

Refer to page 33 for further information on 2024 key corporate responsibility data.

​

RELX 2024 | Results 15

Principal risks

​

PRINCIPAL RISKS

​

The Audit Committee and Board have considered the principal risks and uncertainties which could affect the Group for the financial year as summarised below.

RELX 2024 | Results 16

Principal risks

Our cybersecurity measures, and the measures used by our third-party service providers, may not detect or prevent all attempts to compromise our systems, which may jeopardise the security or integrity of the data we maintain or may disrupt our systems. Failures of our cybersecurity measures could result in unauthorised access to our systems, misappropriation of our or our users’ data, deletion or modification of stored information or other interruption to our business operations. As techniques used to obtain unauthorised access to or to sabotage systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us or our third-party service providers we may be unable to anticipate or implement adequate measures to protect against these attacks and our service providers and customers may likewise be unable to do so.

Compromises of our or our third-party service providers’ systems could adversely affect our financial performance, damage our reputation and expose us to risk of loss, fines and penalties, litigation and increased regulation.

We source content to enable information solutions for our professional customers. The disruption or loss of data sources, either because of regulations, or because data suppliers decide not to supply them, may impose limits on our collection and use of certain kinds of information and our ability to communicate, offer or make such information available or useful to our customers.

RELX 2024 | Results 17

Principal risks

Macroeconomic, political and market conditions may adversely affect the availability and terms of short and long-term funding, volatility of interest rates, the credit quality of our counterparties, currency exchange rates and inflation. The majority of our outstanding debt instruments are, and any of our future debt instruments may be, publicly rated by independent rating agencies. Our borrowing costs and access to capital may be adversely affected if the credit ratings assigned to our debt are downgraded.

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 18

Condensed consolidated financial information

Condensed consolidated income statement

​

​

Summary financial information is presented in US dollars and euros on pages 31 and 32 respectively.

​

RELX 2024 | Results 19

Condensed consolidated financial information

Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income

​

​

​

​

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 20

Condensed consolidated financial information

Condensed consolidated statement of cash flows

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 21

Condensed consolidated financial information

Condensed consolidated statement of financial position

​

​

Approved by the Board of RELX PLC, on 12 February 2025.

​

​

RELX 2024 | Results 22

Condensed consolidated financial information

Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity

​