Reuters parent posts higher earnings

Thomson Reuters Corp., the parent of the Reuters financial news service, on Wednesday beat quarterly profit expectations even as revenue slightly missed and said full-year earnings will be at the high end of its earlier forecast.

Jessica Toonkel of Reuters reported, “UK and European financial services clients held off on signing deals amidst regulatory and political uncertainty, including Brexit and upcoming EU securities rules, the company’s CEO told Reuters.

“In its Financial & Risk segment, the company’s biggest, sales outpaced cancellations, a key indicator of future growth. Overall revenue for the unit was up slightly, but was down one percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“‘The quarter was the tale of two cities, or more like the tale of two continents,’ as the company saw unexpected softness in the UK and Europe and strength in the Americas, CEO Jim Smith said. ‘We heard from the market, that was largely because of upcoming regulatory changes.’

“The company sees a stronger pipeline of deals for its Financial & Risk unit, which makes up more than half of the company’s revenue, Smith told Reuters in an interview Wednesday.”

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