Thomson Reuters reports higher profit

Thomson Reuters Corp., the parent of the Reuters financial news service, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, benefiting from lower costs and tax savings, and said it expects its revenue to grow by low single digits in 2016.

Jessica Toonkel of Reuters wrote, CEO Jim “Smith noted that the fourth quarter is key for Thomson Reuters’ Financial & Risk division, which makes up about half of the company’s revenue, because that is when clients decide whether to renew for the year.

‘”It’s generally when the big banks tend to adjust their seat count for the coming year,’ Smith said.

“The division, which provides news and analytics to financial services companies, showed sales outpacing cancellations – a key indicator of future growth, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of positive net sales at Financial & Risk. Revenue was $1.53 billion for the quarter.

“Quarterly revenue was slightly below estimates, down 2 percent to $3.15 billion, but would have been up 2 percent when factoring out currency. Analysts had forecast $3.17 billion.”

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