Thomson Reuters Posts $44M Loss in Q3, But Revenue up 10%

Thomson Reuters said its third-quarter loss totaled $44 million or $0.09 per share, compared with a profit of $272 million or $0.39 per share it made for .
The news and information company, however, reported a 10 percent increase in revenues thanks to payments it received from for providing news and editorial content. Thomson Reuters’s overall organic revenue growth came in at 4 pe cent for the third quarter of 2019. It was driven by a 5 percent increase in recurring revenues, prompting executives to boost their outlook for the rest of 2019 and 2020.

In terms of Thomson Reuters’ operating profits for Q3 2019, the figure ‎increased 51 percent from a year ago, having yielded a profit of $262 million.
The Q3 operational loss reflects the company’s share of losses from its 45 percent equity interest in Refinitiv. Within the past year, Thomson Reuters sold a majority stake in its financial and risk business, now known as Refinitiv, to a consortium of investors led by US private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc.
Reuters benefits from LSEG’s takeover of Refinitiv
The New York-headquartered organization retained a 45 percent stake in the business, which sells data and financial information terminals, primarily to financial professionals. Back in August, Reuters agreed with Blackstone to sell their data business in a $27 billion all-share deal.
The deal helped strengthen the operating profit metrics due to the positive revaluation of warrants that the company holds in Refinitiv after LSEG’s proposed takeover.
Excluding third-quarter one-off events, adjusted EPS was $0.27 compared to $0.12 per share in the prior-year ‎period.‎ In addition, adjusted EBITDA rose 10 percent to $345 million from $313 million in Q3 2018.
Finally, the parent of Reuters News had forecast 2019 revenue growth of 7% to 8.5% before the effect of currency, and growth of 4.0% to 4.5% in 2020.
“We are encouraged by our nine-month performance, which positions us to achieve our full-year 2019 and 2020 targets. And, the stronger and more stable characteristics of our overall business model should enable the company to sustain an attractive value creation model for shareholders, one that is driven both by growth and returns,” Chief Executive Jim Smith said in a statement.