Reuters back in profit

Reuters back in profit

LONDON: British financial information giant Reuters swung back
into profit in the first six months of the year, it said Tuesday,
while also warning that revenues had dipped sharply over the
period.

In the six months to the end of June, Reuters saw underlying
pre-tax profits of 87 million pounds (123 million euros, US$139
million), compared with a 10 million pound loss over the same
period of 2002.

The profit was well above analysts' expectations of a figure
around 30-50 million pounds.

However, actual pre-tax profits were a more modest 16 million
pounds against a loss of 88 million in the year-earlier period.

And over the same period the group's revenues slumped by 12
percent to 1.62 billion pounds.

Over the course of the 2003 revenues were expected to dip 11
percent in total, Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer said, while
insisting that the first-half results were "solid". -- AFP