Merger Costs Cut Thomson Reuters Profits by 54%

The US$15.9 billion merger of Thomson Financial and Reuters earlier in the year has had a significant impact on the merged entity’s profits as well as on its staffing levels. Substantial integration costs have caused the media group and financial data provider’s second quarter profits to fall by 54%.

At the time of the merger, Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer reckoned that the merged group would benefit from more diversified revenue streams and, according to the Q2 results, revenues have risen by 73% over the prior year period to US$3.1 billion. However, profits were hit by around US$141 million in costs as a direct result of the merger. The firm’s cost savings from the merger totalled US$490 million by 30 June.