Relx raises dividend after solid 2016 growth

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - European information and analytics provider Relx (Frankfurt: RDEB.F - news) raised its dividend by a more-than-expected 21 percent on Thursday after meeting 2016 results forecasts.

The Anglo-Dutch company, previously known as Reed Elsevier (Other OTC: RUKEF - news) , reported a 4 percent rise in underlying 2016 revenue growth after several years of 3 percent growth.

It said it would aim to spend 700 million pounds ($870 million) on share buybacks, in line with the amount spent in 2016.

"Key business trends in the early part of 2017 are consistent with the early part of 2016, and we are confident that, by continuing to execute on our strategy, we will deliver another year of underlying revenue, profit, and earnings growth in 2017," it said.

($1 = 0.8043 pounds) (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Jason Neely)