Thomson Reuters Is Off To A Good Start

Article Excerpt

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $36 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 640.3 million; Market cap: $23.1 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the new name for The Thomson Corp. (old symbol TOC), following its merger with UK-based Reuters Group plc. The new company provides a variety of information services to professionals in the finance, medical, scientific and legal fields. If you assume the two companies merged on January 1, 2007, revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2008 would have increased 13.8%, to $3.3 billion from $2.9 billion a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Pro forma operating earnings, which exclude income taxes and interest costs, rose 36.6%, to $579 million from $424 million. The company expects the merger will cut its annual expenses by $1.2 billion by the end of 2011. Thomson Reuters is a buy. …