Reed Elsevier reaffirms full year outlook

The first quarter of 2012 has been along much the same lines as 2011 at publishing group Reed Elsevier, prompting the group to reaffirm full year expectations of underlying revenue and profit growth.

At the Elsevier unit, the group is expecting another year of modest underlying revenue growth, underpinned by research volume growth and growing demand for electronic products and tools. In Health Sciences, good growth in global medical research and clinical decision support was offset in the first quarter of 2012 by continued weakness in pharma promotion, and increasing pressure on print book sales to individuals, driven by format migration and the weak economic environment.

The global customer budgetary environment is broadly similar to last year, with variations by both geography and customer, the group said. Research article submissions, articles published and usage have continued to show good growth, and sales of databases and tools are growing well.

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Reed's LexisNexis Risk Solutions business is set to enjoy continued underlying growth in insurance and business services, but the market outlook for screening remains uncertain and the government environment is mixed.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional's underlying revenue was marginally higher in the first quarter than a year earlier, but the scope for short term underlying revenue growth or margin expansion remains limited given the current market environment.

In the Reed Business Information unit the group said the underlying revenue growth rate for the full year will be marginally diluted by the sale of the TotalJobs recruitment web site. Overall, the group expects the good underlying growth rate in data services to be weighed down by a decline in print advertising revenues.

Reed's exhibitions business saw good growth in most annual shows during the first quarter, and these trends are expected to persist.

JH