Cash flow is the net amount of cash and cash-equivalents being transferred into and out of a business. At the most fundamental level, a company’s ability to create value for shareholders is determined by its ability to generate positive cash flows, or more specifically, maximize long-term free cash flow (FCF).

REL Free Cash Flow Analysis

Free cash flow, a measure commonly used by analysts to assess a company's profitability, represents the cash a company generates after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and maintain its capital assets.

The Free Cash Flow is calculated using a number of methods including using Operating Cash Flow. Following is the formula to calculate Free Cash Flow based on Operating Cash Flow.

Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flow - Capital Expenditures

Using above formula to calculate Free Cash Flow for RELX PLC (REL), the free cash flow value is 2.365B.

All amounts in GBP

Operating Cash
2.4B
Capital Expenditure
-36M
Free Cash Flow
2.365B

RELX PLC has a positive free cash flow as per the latest annual Cash flow statement released by the company. Positive free cash flow is cruscial for the financial health of a company, which can be used to pay dividends, expand operations, and deleverage its balance sheet (i.e., reduce debt).

REL Cash Flow Statement History

Following table shows the history of Cash Flow Statements sheet for RELX PLC (LSE:REL).

31 Dec 2022 31 Dec 2021 31 Dec 2020 31 Dec 2019
Net Income 1.63B 1.47B 1.22B 1.5B
Depreciation 404M 429M 524M 434M
Change To Netincome 56M -31M -357M -48M
Change To Account Receivables -251M -103M 149M -116M
Change To Liabilities 280M -32M -245M 79M
Change To Inventory -103M -73M -80M -14M
Total Cash From Operating Activities 2.4B 2.02B 1.6B 2.09B
Capital Expenditures -36M -28M -43M -47M
Investments -66M -8M -2M -8M
Other Cashflows From Investing Activities 33M 20M 31M 34M
Total Cashflows From Investing Activities -859M -384M -1.17B -733M
Dividends Paid -983M -920M -880M -842M
Net Borrowings 182M -724M 568M 108M
Other Cashflows From Financing Activities -9M 7M 9M 13M
Total Cash From Financing Activities -1.33B -1.61B -474M -1.33B
Effect Of Exchange Rate 13M -1M 1M -3M
Change In Cash 221M 25M -50M 24M
Repurchase Of Stock -550M -1M -187M -637M
Issuance Of Stock 26M 32M 16M 29M