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(Adds segment results, detail on outlook)
NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters Corp
on Tuesday reported higher revenue in the fourth quarter
and raised its dividend and sales forecast, but said operating
profit was down from a year ago, when it saw a significant gain
from an investment sale and other items.
The news and data provider and parent company of Reuters
News said fourth-quarter operating profit fell 73% year on year
to $257 million. Adjusted earnings per share, which exclude
one-time items, fell to 43 cents per share from 54 cents.
Analysts, on average, expected operating earnings of 46
cents per share. It was not immediately clear if the figures
were directly comparable.
Toronto-based Thomson Reuters, which owns the Westlaw legal
database and the Checkpoint tax and accounting service, said
total revenues grew 6% in the quarter to $1.71 billion. Analysts
had looked for $1.68 billion, according to estimates from
Refinitiv.
The three main business divisions - Legal Professionals, Tax
& Accounting Professionals, and Corporates - reported sales up
between 5% and 9%, but only the tax segment saw higher adjusted
earnings before interest and other items (EBITDA).
The Reuters News division showed double-digit increases in
both sales and adjusted EBITDA.
Reuters News makes more than half its revenue from supplying
news to Refinitiv, a data company spun off from Thomson Reuters
and now owned by the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Thomson Reuters holds a minority stake in the LSE following the
deal, worth about $7 billion as of Monday.
(Writing by Nick Zieminski in New York
Editing by Mark Potter)
