Thomson Reuters Q4 net income up 52 per cent

25 February 2009

Challenging the current market conditions Thomson Reuters, the world's leading news and financial data publisher, reported strong results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December 2008. The results reflect balanced contributions across the company's portfolio of businesses.

The company's fourth-quarter net income grew 52 per cent to $656 million, or 79 cents a share, compared with $432 million, or 67 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenues were at $3.4 billion, an increase of 5 per cent, while operating profit increased 13 per cent to $833 million.

Profit from ongoing businesses, excluding special items, was 57 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 39 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue in the company's closely watched markets division, which serves financial institutions, fell 2 per cent during the quarter to $1.9 billion, while overall revenue was flat at $3.4 billion.

Full-year revenues were at $13.4 billion, up by 8 per cent. Operating profit for the year increased 19 per cent to $2.8 billion.

In 2008, region wise revenues were 58 per cent from the Americas, 32 per cent from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 10 per cent from Asia.