We use cookies to improve your experience, analyze site usage, and show relevant ads. Go to our Privacy Policy for details.
The call conveyed a broadly positive performance: solid underlying revenue (7%), stronger operating profit (9%), EPS growth (10% constant currency), margin expansion (~90bps), strong cash generation and meaningful capital returns (dividend increase and large buyback). All four divisions grew (Risk, Legal, STM, Exhibitions) with notable AI-driven adoption in Legal and Risk and strong research submission trends in STM. Offsets include a material reduction in print-related revenue (>20%), portfolio effects and currency headwinds that restrained reported sterling growth, selective (below-average) M&A activity, and some timing/competitive risks in new product rollouts and workflow competition. On balance the positives substantially outweigh the negatives.
Management guidance is for continued strong underlying revenue growth across the Group, with underlying adjusted operating profit growth ahead of revenue and strong adjusted EPS growth on a constant‑currency basis; divisional guidance was consistent with that view (Risk: sustain strong long‑term growth — FY25 underlying revenue +8% and underlying adjusted operating profit +10%; STM: “good to strong” revenue growth — FY25 revenue +5% and op profit +7%; Legal: continued strong revenue growth — FY25 revenue +9% and op profit +12%; Exhibitions: continued strong revenue growth and an improvement in adjusted operating margin — FY25 revenue +8% and op profit +9%, margin +250bps). They reiterated CapEx around 5% of revenue (FY25 CapEx £525m), organic development as top priority, selective M&A (FY25 acquisitions £270m; 10‑year average c.£400m p.a.), dividend up 7% to 67.5p, a £2.25bn buyback for 2026 (£250m deployed), targeted leverage 2.0–2.5x (year‑end 2025 net debt £7.2bn, net debt/EBITDA 2.0x), cash conversion 99%, and an expectation that print‑related profit will continue to decline in the high single digits annually.
Underlying revenue growth 7%; underlying adjusted operating profit growth 9%; adjusted earnings per share up 10% at constant currency (128.5p, +7% in sterling). Group adjusted operating margin improved by ~90 basis points to 34.8%.
Cash conversion 99%; EBITDA > GBP 3.8bn; capital expenditure GBP 525m (5% of revenue); free cash flow > GBP 2.3bn. Completed GBP 1.5bn buyback in 2025 and announced GBP 2.25bn buyback for 2026 (GBP 250m already deployed); dividend increased 7% to 67.5p.
Risk underlying revenue growth 8% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth 10%. Over 90% of divisional revenue from machine-to-machine interactions driven by embedded AI-enabled analytics and decision tools.
STM underlying revenue growth 5% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth 7%. Primary Research submissions grew over 20% in 2025 and published articles grew 10%; new higher-value products (e.g., LeapSpace) launched with positive early signals.
Legal underlying revenue growth 9% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth 12%. Lexis+ AI enterprise-wide subscription base more than doubled in the past year with usage increasing faster; hundreds of thousands of users and continued roll-out of Protege AI workflows (approaching ~300 workflows).
Exhibitions underlying revenue growth 8% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth 9%. Margin expansion materially ahead of history (Exhibitions margin increase ~250 basis points) supported by portfolio improvements and digital initiatives.
Cost growth managed below revenue growth across business areas; Risk, STM and Legal delivered profit growth 2–3 percentage points ahead of revenue growth; management expects adjusted operating profit growth to continue to exceed revenue growth going forward.
Clear strategic emphasis on shifting mix toward higher-growth analytics and decision tools, embedding AI across products, leveraging unique, curated content and contributory databases to create differentiated, hard-to-replicate offerings.
Good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking the time to join us today. As you may have seen from our press release this morning, we delivered strong financial results in 2025. We made further operational and strategic progress, and we continue to see positive momentum across the group. Underlying revenue growth was 7%. Underlying adjusted operating profit growth was 9%, and adjusted earnings per share growth was 10% at constant currency. All four business areas continue to perform well. On this chart, you can see the relative sizes of the business areas and their growth rates with underlying adjusted operating profit growth exceeding underlying revenue growth in each business area.
In Risk, underlying revenue growth was 8% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth was 10%. Strong growth continues to be driven across segments by the development and rollout of our deeply embedded AI-enabled analytics and decision tools with over 90% of divisional revenue coming from machine-to-machine interactions. In Business Services, which represents over 40% of divisional revenue, strong growth continues to be driven by financial crime compliance and digital fraud and identity solutions and strong new sales. We continue to expand our differentiated data set, build out our global fraud infrastructure and more deeply integrate advanced authentication and behavioral intelligence. In Insurance, which represents around 40% of divisional revenue, strong growth continues to be driven by innovation and adoption of contributory databases and market-specific solutions, supported by positiv...
