New York - AFP
The news and financial information giant Thomson Reuters saidWednesday it had swung into profit in the first quarter following a longrestructuring.The New York-based firm said it posted a profit of $282 million in the quarter,following a $31 million loss a year earlier and a deficit in the fourth quarter of2014."We are off to a solid start and the first-quarter's performance is consistent with ourfull-year expectations," said James Smith, chief executive of Thomson Reuters."Overall, I am pleased with the trajectory of the business. We continue to makeprogress, building out a scalable platform for sustainable growth."The rebound comes following major cuts a year ago of thousands of jobs in itsfinance division, which provides the terminals used by many financial professionals. Revenues for the group were down marginally at $3.1 billion, with the financial unitseeing flat sales.The Reuters news agency saw a two percent dip in revenues to $79 million for thequarter.The group said it returned some $264 million to shareholders in the first quarterthrough share repurchases.