Reuters, the British news and financial information provider, said on Wednesday it had seen a further improvement in trading conditions in the first quarter but cautioned the pace of recovery would slow.
Reuters reported a 10,7% drop in core revenue to 598-million pounds (898-million euros, $1,06-billion) in the first three months of the year.
”In the first quarter, we saw a noticeable improvement in trading conditions, particularly in the United States, where new sales over the quarter outpaced cancellations for the first time since March 2001,” said chief executive Tom Glocer.
On an underlying basis, excluding the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currency movements, core revenue fell by 8,2%.
The figures do not include revenue from the company’s electronic brokerage arm, Instinet.
So-called core recurring revenues declined by 8,4% on an underlying basis to 556-million pounds.
This measure is expected to drop by between 6% and 6,5% in the second quarter, the group forecast.
”We continue to foresee a more gradual rate of recovery in the second half,” said Glocer.
The price of Reuters shares fell by 2,35% to 405,25 pence in early deals in London.
The company is recovering from a difficult past few years as banks, brokers and other financial firms have sought to cut costs and orders for the group’s services.
Reuters is also facing fierce competition from rivals such as Bloomberg, the privately owned US-based company set up by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as internet-based information providers.
The group said earlier this month that it saw its share of the global financial information market decline by two percentage points to 37% in terms of revenue last year.
The loss of share was driven by the relatively weaker performance of markets in which Reuters is strongest compared with the fixed income market, in which it has a smaller foothold. – Sapa-AFP