Reuters parent reports better-than-expected earnings

Thomson Reuters Corp. on Thursday reported higher-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter, helped by cost cuts and gains on divestitures, but said a weakening global economic environment was a concern, reports Nick Zieminski and Kenneth Li of Reuters.

Zieminski and Li report, “Four of the company’s five business segments showed higher sales and operating profit, but those were lower in the Global Print business.

“The Reuters News division showed total sales up 7%, primarily driven by the Reuters Events business and the company’s news agreement with the Data & Analytics business of LSEG. As of Jan. 31, Thomson Reuters owned about $5.6 billion worth of LSEG shares.

“The company completed its two-year Change program to save on costs. After it completes a $2 billion share repurchase program in the second quarter, the company said it planned to return $2 billion in capital to shareholders and possibly conduct a share stock split. It raised its dividend for the 30th straight year.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.