Thomson Reuters to accelerate streamlining

Thomson Reuters says it’s speeding up efforts to streamline and simplify its global information-services organization, resulting in between $200 million (U.S.) and $250 million in accounting charges that will be recorded in the fourth quarter.

The advanced notice was included with the company’s third-quarter financial report, which showed Thomson Reuters had $2.7 billion in revenue and a net income of $286 million, or 36 cents per diluted share, for the three months.

The results, including discontinued operations, were little-changed from the third quarter of 2015, when revenue was $2.75 billion and net income was $293 million, or 36 cents per share of diluted earnings.

The firm’s earnings from continuing operations rose to $268 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, from $263 million, or 32 cents per share.

The company’s statement provided little detail about its plans for an accelerated “transformation” program except that most of the charges will be taken in its core financial and risk services unit and a new enterprise, technology and operations group.

The company’s intellectual property and science business was sold for $3.55 billion cash in a deal that closed on Oct. 3, providing about $3.2 billion in net proceeds that will be used to repay debt, buy back shares and invest in the business. Thomson Reuters announced on Oct. 7 that it planned to establish a new technology centre in Toronto and hire 400 people beginning in December. The company’s chief executive and other senior executives will also relocate to Toronto.

“Our core subscription businesses are moving in the right direction, our cost controls are working and we are increasingly confident in our execution capability,” Jim Smith, president and chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters, said Tuesday. “That is why we are going to pick up the pace of our transformation efforts.”

In the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, revenue in the financial and risk division was flat at $1.5 billion, while revenue from legal services fell to $835 million from $851 million. Revenue from tax and accounting services increased to $323 million from $307 million.