Reed Elsevier triples 2013 share buyback
PUBLISHING and events group Reed Elsevier beat forecasts for first-half earnings yesterday and reiterated its full-year outlook, saying it expected further revenue and profit growth this year.
The group reported underlying sales growth of five per cent. In Europe, underlying sales were down 0.8 per cent. The Anglo-Dutch publisher said underlying adjusted operating profit grew six per cent to £870m, while underlying revenue rose two per cent to £3.025bn. The firm also said it was cutting headcount at its legal publishing house LexisNexis, which according to analysts makes up 14 per cent of group profits.
Reed upped this year’s share buybacks by £200m to £600m, and announced an 11 per cent increase in the interim dividend to 6.65p a share. Shares closed up 4.18 per cent at 834.5p.