Thomson Reuters Q3 revenue up, profit down

The core financial and risk division has faced declining demand from bank clients seeking to reduce expenses and cut jobs. Thomson Reuters has also sought to control costs and scale back its workforce.

Financial and risk - which includes the Eikon flagship desktop product - posted revenue of $1.63 billion, down slightly from $1.64 billion a year earlier. The company said the division's figures were pressured by lower sales and a decline in transactions-related revenues.

Legal division revenue increased 1.3 per cent to $854 million, while the tax and accounting unit’s revenue increased 11.5 per cent to $301 million.

Net sales for financial products were positive in the third quarter in all three regions - the Americas, Europe and Asia. It was the second consecutive quarter that net sales, which strip out cancellations, were positive.

"It is particularly encouraging to see sales trends continue to improve in both our financial and legal businesses alongside consistent strong performance from our other units," chief executive James Smith said in a statement.

Overall, Thomson Reuters reported a third-quarter profit of $250 million, or 28 cents a share, down from $283 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings in the quarter included a $26 million tax charge, while earnings in the prior-year period included a $33 million tax benefit.

Interviewed by Reuters, Smith said: "It's another solid quarter of performance, and we are quite encouraged by what we are seeing.”

He said the environment in Europe, which had been a particular challenge for Thomson Reuters, had improved although professionals markets were "far from robust”.

Excluding items such as tax-related charges, earnings fell to 45 cents a share from 48 cents a share.

Revenue ticked up to $3.11 billion from $3.09 billion a year ago.

The company affirmed its outlook for the year and expects revenue to be unchanged from last year's $12.5 billion. ■