Anglo-Dutch publishing concern Reed Elsevier on Thursday announced a 16% rise in turnover to £5.3bn in 2008. Net profit was up to £476m from £587m in the same period.

In a statement the company’s CEO Crispin Davis said: ‘2009 is clearly going to be a more difficult year with most of the world’s largest economies currently in recession.
‘The key professional markets served by Elsevier and LexisNexis (which account for over 80% of Reed Elsevier’s adjusted operating profits), whilst not immune to the impact of the economic downturn, are more resilient than most.’