Perish the thought, but is Relx losing its ability to be stable and reliable? The data and analytics specialist, which used to be known as Reed Elsevier, is renowned for delivering steady earnings growth and has become a mainstay of many institutional investors’ portfolios.
But this year the doubts started to creep in. Relx reported underlying growth in revenues of 3 per cent in the six months to the end of June against hopes among some analysts of 4 per cent, who had expected a better performance in its scientific, technical and medical division.
This prompted some City scribblers to speculate that Relx was relying on acquisitions to underpin growth. It also led to concerns that a resurgent Thomson Reuters could represent a competitive threat