Reuters, in recent years a near-broken company, may be on the road to recovery. It shares gained 18 per cent to a 20-month high after reporting annual profits that well exceeded market expectations.
The news and electronic information group, which specializes in the financial services industry, posted record losses for 2002, having struggled with economic downturn and fierce competition from rival Bloomberg. It reported unadjusted pre-tax profits of 49 million – a major turnaround from the 493 million losses of 2002.
“Reuters is well on the way to recovery with the worst of revenue declines behind us,” said Chief Executive Tom Glocer. However, core revenue is still declining and the company projects a 9 percent loss for next quarter. Glocer said he is cautiously optimistic about the future and would not rule out the possibility of growth in early 2005.