As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 20, 202018, 2021

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

Or

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20192020

Or

For the transition period from              to             

Or

Commission file number:1-13334

RELX PLC

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

England

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organisation)

1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5JR, England

(Address of principal executive offices)

Henry Udow

Company Secretary

RELX PLC

1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5JR, England

011 +44 20 7166 5500

henry.udow@relx.com

(Name, telephone,e-mail and/or facsimile number and address of

Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of December 31, 2019:2020:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes                ☑                 No                 ☐

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes                 ☐                No                ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes                ☑                 No                 ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of RegulationS-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes                ☑                 No                 ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, accelerated filer,non-accelerated filer or emerging growth company. See definition of “accelerated filer,” “large accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

                ☑

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing.    

☐    US GAAP                 ☑     International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board                 ☐    Other

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:

Item 17         ☐                Item 18         ☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes                 ☐                No                ☑

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK

GENERAL

RELX PLC is a publicly-held entity,public limited company, and owns all of the Group’s businesses.

As used in this Annual Report on Form20-F, the terms “Group”, “RELX”, “we”, “our” or “us” refer collectively to RELX PLC and its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures. For dates and periods ended before the corporate simplification on September 8, 2018, such terms refer collectively to RELX PLC, RELX NV, RELX Group plc and its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures. Additional terms are defined in the Glossary of Terms on pagesS-1 andS-2.

In this annual report,Annual Report on Form 20-F, references to US dollars, $ and ¢ are to US currency; references to sterling, £, pound sterling, pence or p are to UK currency; references to euro and € are to the currency of the European Economic and Monetary Union.

Statements regarding our competitive position included herein were obtained from internal surveys, market research, publicly available information and industry publications. While we believe that the market research, publicly available information and industry publications we use are reliable, we have not independently verified market and industry data from third-party sources. Moreover, while we believe our internal surveys are reliable, they have not been verified by any independent source.

This document contains references to the RELX website, either within the document or incorporated by reference. Information not specifically stated as being incorporated by reference to the RELX website or any other website referenced is not incorporated into this document and should not be considered part of this document.

Pursuant to Rule12b-23(a) of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), certain information in this Annual Report on Form20-F is being incorporated by reference to the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 appended hereto as Exhibit 15.2. With the exception of the items and pages so specified, the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 are not deemed to be filed as part of this Annual Report on Form20-F.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual reportAnnual Report on Form 20-F contains a number of forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, with respect to, among others:

We consider any statements that are not historical facts to be “forward-looking statements”. These statements are based on the current expectations of the management of our businesses and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. These differences could be material; therefore, you should evaluate forward-looking statements in light of various important factors, including those set forth or incorporated by reference in this annual report.Annual Report on Form 20-F.

Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from estimates or forecasts contained in the forward-looking statements include, among others:

The terms “outlook”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “expect”, “should”, “could”, “will”, “believe”, “trends” and similar expressions may indicate a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are found at various places throughout this annual reportAnnual Report on Form 20-F and the other information incorporated by reference in this annual report.Annual Report on Form 20-F.

You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this annual report.Annual Report on Form 20-F. 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 annual reportAnnual Report on Form 20-F or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

PART I

ITEM 3: KEY INFORMATION

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by, the consolidated financial statements for RELX which are set forth on pages 128132 to 174179 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2. RELX PLC is a publicly-held entity.

The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting policies that are in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”). The selected financial data as at December 31, 20192020 and 20182019 and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 2018 and 20172018 set out below has been extracted or derived from the audited consolidated financial statements, set forth on pages 128132 to 174179 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2. The selected financial data as at December 31, 2018, 2017 2016 and 20152016 and for the years ended December 31, 20162017 and 20152016 set out below has been extracted or derived from our audited financial statements, which are not included herein. The selected financial data as at a date and for any period ended before the corporate simplification on September 8, 2018 is presented on a consolidated basis for RELX PLC and RELX NV as a single reporting entity.

Consolidated Income Statement Data⁽¹⁾

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position Data⁽¹⁾

Earnings per share and dividends

RISK FACTORS

The principal and emerging risks facing our business are included below. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Our business performance and financial condition has been adversely affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and may continue to be impacted in ways that are difficult to predict.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on RELX’s business will depend on a range of factors which we are not able to accurately predict. Those factors include the duration and scope of the pandemic, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the pandemic, the geographies impacted, changes in worldwide economic conditions, reductions in customer spending, disruptions and volatility in the global capital markets and the nature, severity and duration of measures adopted by governments to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our business performance and financial condition may be adversely affected by negative changes in general economic conditions. Further deteriorations in economic conditions, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic or otherwise, could lead to a further or prolonged decline in customer demand for our products and services and negatively impact our business. Decline or volatility in customer demand for one or more of our products due to cost-cutting, reduced spending, reduced activity or delayed renewals by our customers may impact RELX’s revenues and profits.

Containment measures that governments adopt or that we take, such as quarantines or other travel restrictions and site closures, may interfere with the ability of our employees, vendors and data suppliers to perform their respective responsibilities and obligations. In Exhibitions, the main exhibition venues in Europe and the US remain closed. We ran physical events in the second half of 2020 in venues that have reopened, but these may close again. The events that ran have typically been smaller than their prior editions.

Disruption and volatility in financial markets and capital markets may adversely impact RELX’s access to financing or the terms of any such financing.

These factors have had an adverse impact on our business performance this year (in particular on our Exhibitions business segment) and could further adversely impact our business performance as well as having an adverse impact on our financial condition in future years. To the extent the Covid-19 pandemic adversely affects our business performance and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening a number of the other risks described below.

External Risks

Current and future economic, political and market forces, and dislocations beyond our control may adversely affect demand for our products and services.

Demand for our products and services may be adversely impacted by factors beyond our control, such as the economic environment in, and trading relations between, the United States, Europe and other major economies international(including the evolution of the United Kingdom’s trading relations,relationship with the European Union), political uncertainties, epidemics, acts of war and civil unrest andas well as levels of government and private funding availableprovided to our customers.academic and research institutions.

Our intellectual property rights may not be adequately protected under current laws in some jurisdictions, which may adversely affect our results and our ability to grow.

Our products and services include and utilise intellectual property. We rely on trademark, copyright, patent and other intellectual property laws to establish and protect our proprietary rights in this intellectual property. There is a risk that our proprietary rights could be challenged, limited, invalidated or circumvented, which may impact demand for and pricing of our products and services. Copyright laws are subject to national legislative initiatives, as well as cross bordercross-border initiatives such as those from the European Commission and increased judicial scrutiny in several jurisdictions in which we operate. This creates additional challenges for us in protecting our proprietary rights in content delivered through the internet and electronic platforms.

Regulatory changes regarding the collection and use of third-party information by us or compromises of our data privacy controls and other unauthorizedunauthorised access to our databases, could adversely affect our businesses and operations.

Our businesses rely extensively upon content and data from external sources. Data is obtained from public records, governmental authorities, customers and other information companies, including competitors. The disruption or loss of data sources, either because of data privacy laws or because data suppliers decide not to supply them, may impose limits on our collection and use of certain kinds of information about individuals and our ability to communicate such information

effectively with our customers. Examples of data privacy laws relating to internet communications, privacy and data protection,e-commerce, information governance and use of public records, include the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and the California Consumer Privacy Act, (‘CCPA’), as well as evolving regulation in many jurisdictions where RELX operates.

Compromise of data privacy, through a failure of our cyber security measures (see “Compromises of our cyber security systems and other unauthorised access to our databases could adversely affect our businesses and operations” below), other data loss incidents or failure to comply with requirements for proper collection, storage and transmittal of data, by ourselves, or our third-party service providers, may damage our reputation and expose us to risk of loss, fines and penalties, litigation and increased regulation.

Changes in the payment model for our scientific, technical and medical primary research products or alternative publication channels for our content could adversely affect our operations.

Our Scientific, Technical and& Medical (‘STM’(“STM”) primary research content, like that of most of our competitors, is sold largely on a paid subscription basis. There is continued debate in government, academic and library communities, which are the principal customers for our STM content, regarding to what extent such content should be funded instead through fees charged to authors or authors’ funders and/or made freely available in some form after a period following publication. Some of these methods, if widely adopted, could adversely affect our revenue from paid subscriptions.

Strategic Risks

We operate in a highly competitive and dynamic environment that is subject to rapid change and cannot assure you that there will be continued demand for our products and services.

Our businesses are dependent on the continued demand by our customers for our products and services and the value placed on them. Failure to deliver enhanced value to our customers could impact demand for our products and services and consequently adversely affect our revenue or the long-term returns from our investment in electronic product and platform initiatives.

We operate in a highly competitive and dynamic environment that is subject to rapid change.

Our businessesThey operate in highly competitive and dynamic markets, and the means of delivering our products and services,delivery, customer demand for, and the products and services themselves, continue to change in response to rapid technological innovations, legislative and regulatory changes, the entrance of new competitors, and other factors. Failure to anticipate and quickly adapt to these changes, or to deliver enhanced value to our customers, could impact the competitiveness ofdemand for our products and services and consequently adversely affect our revenue.revenue or the long-term returns from our investment in electronic product and platform initiatives.

Failures of our cyber security 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, or failure to comply with applicable legislation or regulatory or contractual requirements could adversely affect our financial performance, damage our reputation and expose us to risk of loss, fines and penalties, litigation and increased regulation.

Our business, operations and reputation could be adversely affected by a failure to comply with FTC settlement orders.

We are subject to numerous and evolving laws and regulations designed to protect certain information and, through our Risk & Business Analytics business in the United States, we are party to two consent orders and two subsequent related supplemental orders embodying settlements, regarding our compliance with US federal laws governing consumer information and security-related issues, including certain fraudulent data access incidents. Failure to comply with these orders could result in civil penalties and adversely affect our business, operations and reputation.

Our businesses may be adversely affected by the failure of third parties to whom we have outsourced business activities.

Our organisational and operational structures depend on outsourced and offshored functions, including use of cloud service providers. Poor performance, failure or breach of third parties to whom we have outsourced activities could adversely affect our business performance, reputation and financial condition.

We may be unable to implement and execute our strategic and business plans if we cannot maintain high-qualityrecruit and retain skilled employees and management.

The implementation and execution of our strategies and business plans depend on our ability to recruit, motivate and retain skilled employees and management. We compete globally and across business sectors for talented management and skilled individuals, particularly those with technology and data analytics capabilities. An inability to recruit, motivate or retain such people could adversely affect our business performance. Failure to recruit and develop talent regardless of gender, race national origin or other characteristics could adversely affect our reputation and business performance.

Financial Risks

Changes in the market values of defined benefit pension scheme assets and in the assumptions used to value defined benefit pension scheme obligations may adversely affect our businesses.

We operate a number of pension schemes around the world, including local versions of the defined benefit type in the UK and the United States. The US scheme is closed to future accruals. The UK scheme has been closed to new hires since 2010. The members who continue to accrue benefits now represent a small and reducing portion of the overallUK-based UK based workforce. The assets and obligations associated with thosethese pension schemes are sensitive to changes in the market values of the scheme’s investments and the market-related assumptions used to value scheme liabilities. Adverse changes to asset values, discount rates, longevity assumptions or inflation could increase funding requirements.

Our impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets incorporates various assumptions which are highly judgmental. If these assumptions are not realized,realised, we may be required to recognizerecognise a charge in the future for impairment.

As at December 31, 2019,2020, goodwill on the consolidated statement of financial position amounted to £6,824£7,224 million and intangible assets with an indefinite life amounted to £114£111 million. We conduct an impairment test at least annually, which involves a comparison of the carrying value of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets by cash generating unit with estimated values in use based on latest management cash flow projections. The assumptions used in the estimation of value in use are, by their very nature, highly judgmental, and include profit growth of the business over a five-year forecast period, the long-term growth rate of the business thereafter, and related discount rates. There is no guarantee that our businesses will be able to achieve the forecasted results which have been included in the impairment tests and impairment charges may be required in future periods if we are unable to meet these assumptions.

Reputational Risks

Breaches of generally accepted ethical business standards or applicable statutes concerning bribery, corruption, fraud, sanctions, and competition could adversely affect our reputation and financial condition.

As a global provider of professional information solutions to the STM, risk, legal and exhibitions markets we, our employees and major suppliers are expected to adhere to high standards of integrity and ethical conduct, including those related to anti-bribery and anti-corruption, sanctions, fraud, competition and principled business conduct. A breach of generally accepted ethical business standards or applicable laws could adversely affect our business performance, reputation and financial condition.

Regulatory Risks

Our business, operations and reputation could be adversely affected by a failure to comply with FTC settlement orders.

We are subject to numerous and evolving laws and regulations designed to protect certain information and, through our Risk business in the United States, we are party to two consent orders and two subsequent related supplemental orders embodying settlements, regarding our compliance with US federal laws governing consumer information and security-related issues, including certain fraudulent data access incidents. Failure to comply with these orders could result in civil penalties and adversely affect our business, operations and reputation.

ITEM 4: INFORMATION ON THE GROUP

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

RELX PLC is a publicly-held entity.public limited company, incorporated in England under the UK Companies Act 2006 (as amended) (the “Companies Act”).

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America.

We operate in four major market segments: Scientific, Technical & Medical; Risk & Business Analytics;Risk; Legal; and Exhibitions.

Information on revenue by geographical market is set forth in note 2 to our consolidated financial statements under the heading “Revenue, operating profit and segment analysis” on page 134138 to 137141 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL & MEDICAL

The information set forth under the headings ‘Business Overview’, ‘Market opportunities’, ‘Strategic priorities’ and ‘Business model, distribution channels and competition’ on pages 1214 to 1517 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

RISK & BUSINESS ANALYTICS

The information set forth under the headings ‘Business Overview’, ‘Market opportunities’, ‘Strategic priorities’ and ‘Business model, distribution channels and competition’ on pages 1820 to 2123 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

LEGAL

The information set forth under the headings ‘Business Overview’, ‘Market opportunities’, ‘Strategic priorities’ and ‘Business model, distribution channels and competition’ on pages 2426 to 2729 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

EXHIBITIONS

The information set forth under the headings ‘Business Overview’, ‘Market opportunities’, ‘Strategic priorities’ and ‘Business model, distribution channels and competition’ on pages 3032 to 3335 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

RELX PLC is a publicly-held entity with its shares listed on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges.

Trading on the New York Stock Exchange is in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs)(“ADSs”) evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)(“ADRs”) issued by Citibank N.A., as depositary.

Subsidiaries, Associates, Joint Ventures and Business Units

A list of subsidiaries, associates, joint ventures and business units is included as Exhibit 8.0 to this Annual Report on Form20-F.

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

RELX PLC was originally incorporated in 1903. In 1993, RELX PLC combined with RELX NV by contributing their respective businesses into two jointly owned companies. In 2015, the structure was simplified so that all of the businesses were owned by one jointly controlled company, RELX Group plc. In 2018, the structure was further simplified whereby RELX NV merged into RELX PLC to form a single parent company, RELX PLC. RELX PLC owns 100% of the shares in RELX Group plc, which in turn owns all of the operating businesses, subsidiaries and financing activities of the Group.

Material acquisitions and disposals

Total cash spent on acquisitions in the three years ended December 31, 2019,2020, was £1,538£2,271 million. Cash spent on acquisitions (including borrowings in 2019acquired businesses) in 2020 was £874 million (2019: £437 million (2018:million; 2018: £960 million; 2017: £141 million) including deferred consideration of £5 million (2019: £24 million (2018:million; 2018: £16 million; 2017: £13 million) on past acquisitions and spend on venture capital investments of £2 million (2019: £8 million (2018:million; 2018: £13 million; 2017: £10 million).

Net cash inflow in relation to disposals made in 2019,2020, after timing differences and separation and transaction costs, was £29 million (2019: £48 million (2018:million; 2018: £5 million; 2017: £41 million).

Capital expenditure

Capital expenditure on property, plant, equipment and internally developed intangible assets principally relates to the development of electronic products and investment in systems infrastructure, computer equipment and office facilities. Total such capital expenditure, which was financed using cash flows generated from operations, amounted to £381£364 million in 2019 (2018:2020 (2019: £381 million; 2018: £365 million; 2017: £355 million). The majority of capital expenditure is incurred in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In 2019,2020, there was continued investment in new products and related infrastructure. Further information on capital expenditure is included in notes 2, 15 and 17 to the consolidated financial statements under the headings ‘Revenue, operating profit and segment analysis’, ‘Intangible assets’ and ‘Property, plant and equipment’ on pages 137, 154141, 159 and 156161 respectively of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

Principal executive offices

The principal executive offices of RELX PLC are located at1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5JR, England. Tel: +44 20 7166 5500. The principal executive office of RELX PLC located in the United States is at 230 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10169. Tel: +1 212 309 8100. Our internet address is www.relx.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this report.Annual Report on Form 20-F.

Our agent in the United States is Kenneth Thompson II, Corporate General Counsel, Intellectual Property, Privacy and Governance, RELX; kenneth.thompson@relx.com, 9443 Springboro Pike, B4/F5/S14, Miamisburg, Ohio, 45342.

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

We own or lease approximately 262223 properties around the world as at December 31, 2019.2020. The table below identifies the principal owned and leased properties in our property portfolio as at December 31, 2019.2020.

All of the above properties are substantially occupied by RELX with the exception of the New York, New York property which has been subleased to new tenants and no longer houses any RELX staff.

No property owned or leased by us which is considered material to us taken as a whole is presentlycurrently subject to liabilities relating to environmental regulations and none has major encumbrances.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Our products and services include and utilise intellectual property content delivered through a variety of media, including online, journals and books. We rely on trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property laws, as well as in some cases licensing arrangements with third parties, to establish and protect our proprietary rights in these products and services.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Certain of our businesses provide authorised customers with products and services such as access to public records and other information on individuals. Our businesses that provide such products and services are subject to applicableincreasing and evolving privacy, data protection and consumer information laws and regulations, includingsuch as US federal and state laws and regulations, UK laws and regulations, applicable to jurisdictions that are subject to or follow EU laws and regulations and laws and regulations of the EU member state regulation.states. Our compliance obligations vary, and may include, among other things, reasonable data security programmes, submissions of regulatory reports, data localisation, providing consumersindividuals with certain notices and in some instances, limiting data or correcting inaccuracies in reports available through our products. From time to time, we respond in the ordinary course to inquiries and investigations from regulators who are charged with enforcing the laws and regulations applicable to our businesses. We are also subject to the terms of consent decrees and other settlements with certain regulators in the United States. See “Item 8: Financial Information — Legal Proceedings” on page 33..

Section 219 of the US Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (the “ITRA”(“ITRA”), which added Section 13(r) to the Exchange Act, requires disclosures regarding certain activities relating to Iran or with persons designated pursuant to various US Presidential Executive Orders. These disclosures are required even where the activities, transactions or dealings were conducted in compliance with applicable law. We engage in a limited amount of activity with Iran (a) through ournon-US affiliates and businesses, as well as (b) pursuant to authorisations — in the form of exemptions or licenses — issued by the US government. We anticipate that similar transactions or dealings may occur in the future. The ownership or control of our customers in Iran is often difficult to determine with certainty.

During 2019,2020,

Numerous Iranian nationals attended conferences organised by our Exhibitions and Risk & Business Analytics businesses. Individuals located in Iran also subscribed to or purchased certain of our scientific, medical and technical publications. Many of these individuals are researchers, doctors or other professionals who have obtained subscriptions or purchased publications in their individual capacity, but who may be employed by government agencies in Iran or by hospitals,

ITEM 5: OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

The following discussion does not address certain items in respect of our fiscal year ended December 31, 20172018 in reliance on amendments to disclosure requirements adopted by the SEC in 2019. A discussion of our fiscal year ended December 31, 20172018 may be found in “Item 5: Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” of our Annual Report on Form20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018,2019, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2019.20, 2020.

OPERATING RESULTS

The following discussion is based on the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the two years ended December 31, 20192020 and 20182019 which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB.

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by reference to, the consolidated financial statements on pages 128132 to 174179 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

The following tables analyse the Group’s revenue in each of the two years ended December 31, 20192020 and 20182019 by type, format and geographic market. We derive our revenue principally from subscriptions, transactional and advertising sales. Transactional sales include revenue from exhibitions. For additional information, see note 2 to the consolidated financial statements under the heading ‘Revenue, operating profit and segment analysis’ on pages 134138 to 137141 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2.

Revenue by type

Year ended December 31,

Revenue by format

Year ended December 31,

Revenue by geographic market

Year ended December 31,

The cost profile of individual businesses within the Group varies and costs are controlled on an individual business unit basis. Our most significant cost item is staff costs of £2,498£2,555 million (2018: £2,350(2019: £2,498 million).

The following tables show revenue and adjusted operating profit for each of our business segments in each of the two years ended December 31, 20192020 and 20182019 together with the percentage change in 20192020 and 20182019 at both actual and constant currencies. The effect of currency movements on the 20192020 results is further described separately below (see “— Effect of Currency Translation” on page 18)23). Adjusted operating profit is included on the basis that it is the key segmental profit measure used by management to evaluate performance and allocate resources to the business segments, as reported under IFRS 8 — ‘Operating Segments’ in note 2 to the consolidated financial statements under the heading ‘Revenue, operating profit and segment analysis’ on pages 134138 to 137141 of the RELX Annual Report and Financial Statements 20192020 and incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 15.2. Adjusted operating profit represents operating profit before amortisation of acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related costs,items, and is grossed up to exclude the equity share of finance income, finance costs and taxes in joint ventures. In 2020, we also excluded exceptional costs in the Exhibitions business. A reconciliation of reported operating profit to adjusted operating profit is set out on page 15.19.

Revenue by segment, reported operating profit and adjusted operating profit by segment are as follows:

exceptional costs in the Exhibitions business in 2020. This provides our investors with a clear basis for assessing our ability to raise debt and invest in new business opportunities.

The calculations of theyear-on-year changes in reported revenue and underlying revenue growth are presented below:

The calculations of theyear-on-year changes in adjusted operating profit and underlying adjusted operating profit growth are presented below:

Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 20192020

Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 20182019

Reported revenue was £7,874£7,110 million (2018: £7,492(2019: £7,874 million), down 10% (2019: up 5% (2018: 2%). The increase, reflecting the decline in reported revenue reflects good growth in electronic andface-to-face revenues, partially offset by continued print revenue declines.Exhibitions revenue. Underlying revenue growth was 4% (2018:down 9% (2019: up 4%) with all four market segments contributing to underlying growth..

Reported operating costs, which comprises cost of sales, selling and distribution costs, and administration and other expenses, were £5,814£5,600 million (2018: £5,560(2019: £5,814 million), down 4% (2019: up 5% (2018: 2%). Cost of sales were £2,755£2,487 million (2018: £2,644(2019: £2,755 million), down 10% (2019: up 4% (2018: 1%) compared to 2018, lower than the overall increase in revenue.2019. Selling and distribution costs were £1,292£1,212 million (2018: £1,191(2019: £1,292 million), down 6% (2019: up 8% (2018: 2%) and administration and other expenses were £1,767£1,901 million (2018: £1,725(2019: £1,767 million), up 2% (2018:8% (2019: up 3%8%).

Reported operating profit, which includes amortisation of acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related costs,items, was £2,101£1,525 million (2018: £1,964(2019: £2,101 million), an increasea decrease of 27% (2019: 7% (2018: 3%)increase).

Adjusted operating profit was £2,491£2,076 million (2018: £2,346(2019: £2,491 million), down 17% (2019: up 6% (2018: 3%), reflecting the benefit of process innovation across the Group.loss incurred in Exhibitions.

The reported operating margin was 21.4% (2019: 26.7% (2018: 26.2%). The overall adjusted operating margin of 31.6%29.2% was 0.32.4 percentage points higherlower than in the prior year.year, reflecting the loss incurred in Exhibitions. On an underlying basis, including cycling effects, the margin improvedfell by 0.62.7 percentage points. Acquisitions and disposals reduced the margin by 0.30.2 percentage points and currency effects had no net impact onincreased the margin.margin by 0.5 percentage points.

Depreciation and amortisation of internally generated intangible assets increased to £307£341 million (2018: £287(2019: £307 million). Depreciation ofright-of-use assets increased to £82m (2018: £77m)£88 million (2019: £82 million).

The amortisation charge in respect of acquired intangible assets, including the share of amortisation in joint ventures, increased to £376 million (2019: £295 million). This includes impairment of £65 million (2018: £288 million), with the impactin respect of acquisitions largely offset by disposalsacquired intangible assets in Legal and assets which have become fully amortised.in Exhibitions. Acquisition-related costs were the same as the prior year, atitems amounted to a credit of £12 million (2019: £84 million (2018: £84 million).charge), this included a gain of £76 million from the revaluation of a put and call option arrangement relating to a non-controlling interest in a subsidiary within Legal.

Reported net finance costs were £305£172 million (2018: £211(2019: £305 million). The reportedThis includes the net pension financing charge of £10 million (2019: £12 million). Reported net finance costs includein 2019 included a charge of £99m£99 million in respect of the early redemption of bonds that were due to be repaid in October 2022.

Reported net gain on disposals and othernon-operating items was £130 million (2019: £51 million (2018: £33 million loss)million) arising in 2020 largely from the revaluation and disposal of certain Legal assets and venture capital investments. These gains are partly offset by an associated tax charge of £3 million (2019: £11 million (2018: £14 million credit)million).

Reported profit before tax was £1,847£1,483 million (2018: £1,720(2019: £1,847 million).

The reported tax charge was £338£275 million (2018: £292(2019: £338 million) including a credittax associated with the exceptional costs in Exhibitions, amortisation of £89 million in respect of the substantial resolution of certain historical tax issues.acquired intangible assets, disposals and other non-operating items.

The reported net profit attributable to RELX PLC shareholders of £1,505£1,224 million (2018: £1,422(2019: £1,505 million) was down 19% (2019: up 6% (2018: 14% down)). The adjusted net profit attributable to RELX PLC shareholders of £1,808£1,543 million (2018: £1,674(2019: £1,808 million) was down 15% (2019: up 8% (2018: 3%).

The reported earnings per share was 77.4p (2018: 71.9p)63.5p (2019: 77.4p).

Adjusted earnings per share were up 10%down 14% at 93.0p (2018: 84.7p)80.1p (2019: 93.0p). At constant rates of exchange, adjusted earnings per share increaseddecreased by 7%15%.

Ordinary dividends paid to shareholders in the year, being the 20182019 final and 20192020 interim dividend, amounted to £842£880 million (2018: £796(2019: £842 million).

The final dividend proposed by the Board is 32.1p33.4p per share 8% higher than the final dividend for the prior year.(2019: 32.1p). This gives total dividends for the year of 45.7p (2018: 42.1p)47.0p (2019: 45.7p).

During 2019,2020, a combined total of 33.57.8 million of RELX PLC shares were repurchased. Total consideration for these repurchases was £600£150 million. A further 2.21.8 million shares were purchased by the Employee Benefit Trust. During 2019, 33.3 million2020, no RELX PLC shares held in treasury were cancelled. As at December 31, 2019,2020, total shares in issue, net of shares held in treasury and shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust, amounted to 1,9321,926 million. ANo further 5.0 million RELX PLC shares have been repurchased in 20202021 as at February 12, 2020.2021.

Scientific, Technical & Medical: 20192020 financial performance

In Business Services, further development of analytics that help our customers to detect and prevent fraud and to manage risk continued to drive growth. TheWhilst recovery has been gradual in some areas such as credit risk, transactional revenue has already returned to double digit growth in several segments including fraud prevention. Digital identity solutions such as ThreatMetrix continued to perform strongly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and were complemented by the first quarter acquisition of Emailage, a provider of email-based fraud prevention solutions.

In Insurance, we continued to drive growth through the roll-out of enhanced analytics, the extension of data sets, and by further expansion in adjacent verticals. Transactional volumes have continued to improve since the lows seen in March and April, with second half US and international market environment wasshopping trends in line with historic trends for the year as a whole after a brief period of variabilityrecent years. Driving activity and claims volumes also continued to recover but remained slightly below pre-Covid-19 levels at the beginningend of the year.2020.

In Data Services, growth was supported by solid subscriptions and the organic development of innovative new products and expansion of the range of decision tools drovetools. Covid-19 related restrictions have impacted our different customer industry segments to varying degrees, and we saw some impact on new subscription sales and delays in product implementations by some customers.

In Government, strong growth in all key market verticals. In Government, wewas driven by the continued to drive customer value through the introductiondevelopment and roll out of sophisticated analytics.

In 2019 we made two small acquisitionsnew analytics products and disposed of minor print assets. Since the year end we have completed the acquisition of ID Analytics, a provider of credit and fraud risk solutions, and agreed to acquire Emailage, a provider of email based fraud prevention solutions.services.

Legal: 20192020 financial performance