Thomson slims down for future growth

Article Excerpt

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $38 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 815.8 million; Market cap: $31.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) gets 55% of its revenue by selling news and information to professionals in the banking industry. The remaining 45% comes from providing specialized information products to clients in the legal, accounting and scientific research fields. Thomson earned $137 million, or $0.16 a share, in 2013 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). That’s down sharply from $2.0 billion, or $2.39 a share, in 2012. Financial institutions continue to cut their spending on information products in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis. In response, Thomson is cutting jobs and eliminating less-profitable products. That has freed up cash for new products, such as its Eikon desktop terminals, which deliver news and financial data to traders and portfolio managers. The company has now installed over 122,000 Eikons,…