Thomson Reuters reports US$5.04B Q1 profit as Refinitiv sale completed

TORONTO – Thomson Reuters Corp. reported a first-quarter profit of nearly US$5.04 billion as it completed the sale of its investment in financial data firm Refinitiv to the London Stock Exchange Group.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to US$10.13 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, up from a profit of US$193 million or 39 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, which excluded the Refinitiv sale as well as other adjustments, Thomson Reuters says it earned 58 cents per share, up from an adjusted profit of 48 cents per share in the first three months of last year.

Revenue in the quarter grew to US$1.58 billion, up from US$1.52 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 42 cents per share and US$1.56 billion in revenue, according toRefinitiv.

In its outlook for 2021, Thomson Reuters said it now expects revenue growth this year of between 3.5 and four per cent, compared with its earlier forecast for between three and four per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2021.

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