Robert Daleo
Tom Glocer sees great things ahead for news
Tuesday 22 November 2011
Many people at Thomson Reuters are tired of organisational change and the rumour mill is hyperactive, CEO Tom Glocer said on Tuesday, but many of the group’s businesses are growing strongly and he sees great things ahead for news as a core distinguishing asset for the whole company.
The company’s financial position is rock-solid, the balance sheet is strong and the credit rating excellent, he said in a message to the group’s 55,000 staff worldwide as Americans prepare to celebrate Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Robert Daleo has done an exemplary job as chief financial officer and the transition to Stephane Bello is going smoothly.
Glocer said that before the year is out decisions will be taken and announced and 2012 will begin with a shared road map for success. “Meanwhile, the best thing you can do from any perspective is to stay focused on meeting your 2011 objectives.”
He told employees: “We can feel good about the work under way to rekindle growth in the businesses that have been struggling. I have been leading a major strategy effort focused on the financial information market, which I reviewed with our Board just last week. In some areas we have a steep climb ahead, but we have what it takes ultimately to succeed and I am working closely with the leaders of those businesses to get us back on the path to robust growth.”
Glocer mentioned powerful growth in the group’s enterprise, trading marketplaces, legal, tax and accounting, and intellectual property and science businesses. Regionally, the company was growing in rapidly developing markets in Asia, the Middle East/Africa, and Latin America.
“I am working directly with Media and Editorial, and I can tell you first-hand that we have built the strongest news organization I’ve seen in my 18 years working here. I see great things ahead for News as a core distinguishing asset for the whole company.”
Glocer said he was working together with chief operations officer James Smith to align the company with its customers’ evolving needs. “From talking to colleagues across our businesses, though, I know that many people are tired of organizational change and that the rumor mill is hyperactive. I understand. Change and the uncertainty that comes with it are hard to handle.”
He said a new operating model called Customer First was taking time because Smith was collaborating with the group’s business and functional leaders to get it right.
“Yes, our markets are changing. That’s true for most big companies these days. The fact that we are changing to keep pace may be a source of anxiety for some, but overall it should be a source of comfort. Any company that tries to stand still today will find itself moving backward,” he said. “This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all the good things about our company and that Thomson Reuters is blessed with many thousands of talented people who will settle for nothing less than excellence.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
The company’s financial position is rock-solid, the balance sheet is strong and the credit rating excellent, he said in a message to the group’s 55,000 staff worldwide as Americans prepare to celebrate Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Robert Daleo has done an exemplary job as chief financial officer and the transition to Stephane Bello is going smoothly.
Glocer said that before the year is out decisions will be taken and announced and 2012 will begin with a shared road map for success. “Meanwhile, the best thing you can do from any perspective is to stay focused on meeting your 2011 objectives.”
He told employees: “We can feel good about the work under way to rekindle growth in the businesses that have been struggling. I have been leading a major strategy effort focused on the financial information market, which I reviewed with our Board just last week. In some areas we have a steep climb ahead, but we have what it takes ultimately to succeed and I am working closely with the leaders of those businesses to get us back on the path to robust growth.”
Glocer mentioned powerful growth in the group’s enterprise, trading marketplaces, legal, tax and accounting, and intellectual property and science businesses. Regionally, the company was growing in rapidly developing markets in Asia, the Middle East/Africa, and Latin America.
“I am working directly with Media and Editorial, and I can tell you first-hand that we have built the strongest news organization I’ve seen in my 18 years working here. I see great things ahead for News as a core distinguishing asset for the whole company.”
Glocer said he was working together with chief operations officer James Smith to align the company with its customers’ evolving needs. “From talking to colleagues across our businesses, though, I know that many people are tired of organizational change and that the rumor mill is hyperactive. I understand. Change and the uncertainty that comes with it are hard to handle.”
He said a new operating model called Customer First was taking time because Smith was collaborating with the group’s business and functional leaders to get it right.
“Yes, our markets are changing. That’s true for most big companies these days. The fact that we are changing to keep pace may be a source of anxiety for some, but overall it should be a source of comfort. Any company that tries to stand still today will find itself moving backward,” he said. “This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all the good things about our company and that Thomson Reuters is blessed with many thousands of talented people who will settle for nothing less than excellence.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Another major shake-up as Thomson Reuters disbands dual structure
Wednesday 28 September 2011
In the second major management shake-up in two months, Thomson Reuters disbanded its two-division structure on Wednesday and promoted a senior executive to the new role of chief operating officer. Tom Glocer remains chief executive. Robert Daleo, chief financial officer, will leave next year.
The company said James Smith, chief executive officer of the professional division, would become chief operating officer immediately. At the same time, the professional and markets divisions are disbanded and will “transition to a set of focused business units” reporting to head office.
Both Daleo and Smith were Thomson Corporation executives when the Toronto-based company bought Reuters in 2008.
“The changes we are announcing today will streamline our organization and enable us to work better across business units to achieve growth and capture operating efficiencies from scale,” said Glocer. “The professional markets in which we operate are marked by increasing collaboration among specialists and Thomson Reuters must operate with the speed and agility needed to serve these demanding professionals.”
Daleo, chief financial officer since 1998, will retire in July 2012 when he turns 63. Stephane Bello, chief financial officer of the professional division, will succeed him as chief financial officer of Thomson Reuters, effective 1 January 2012. Daleo will then serve as vice-chairman of the group until his retirement.
David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters, said: “Bob Daleo has guided the financial operations of the company for more than a decade through three chief executives. Retirement has been anticipated for some time and we shall miss the presence of a trusted and valued colleague. Bob’s contributions to the businesses have been immense. Our evolution into a global electronic information company owes a great debt to him. Bob’s advice and leadership will be sorely missed, but those qualities remain in place over the months ahead to all our benefit.”
“Stephane Bello is the perfect choice to succeed Bob because of his strategic and analytical strengths, proven leadership abilities and deep knowledge of the company and our markets,” said Glocer. “He will work closely with Bob, Jim and me over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition and uphold the high standards of integrity and financial reporting set by Bob Daleo.”
Following the sudden departure in July of Devin Wenig, head of markets, Thomson Reuters promoted Smith, chief executive of the professional division that caters to lawyers, accountants and scientists, to the new role of chief operating officer.
The Financial Times reported that the latest moves take some burden from Glocer, who took hands-on control of markets after Wenig’s exit, which was seen as a sign of the group’s controlling shareholder, Canada’s Thomson family, exerting tighter control.
Glocer told the FT that the split into markets and professional divisions had made sense when Thomson Corporation bought Reuters and needed to concentrate on merging its financial data businesses without distracting its professional units.
“Certainly for the first two years it worked very well like that. This year, I concluded markets wasn’t coming out of the integration the way it needed to and I had to take the first step in July,” he said. “In the perfect world, markets would have been growing faster this year and I would have moved in an orderly way to this structure” in 2012, he said.
The FT said Smith’s promotion could elevate his standing as a possible internal successor to Glocer, who said: “He’s always been in the frame as far as I’m concerned, but I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
In a message to staff, Glocer said his strategic goals were simple: to work better across business units to meet the increasingly complex demands of customers and capture growth opportunities; to leverage Thomson Reuters’ scale and achieve efficiencies by building innovative technology platforms that can be shared across the company; and to square off against competitors as a whole company which is greater than the sum of its parts.
He said the priorities he set in July for the markets division of restarting the sales engine and resetting Eikon in the context of the company’s broader product strategy had not changed, nor had the goal of creating a strong performance culture.
“These last two months acting as both CEO of Thomson Reuters and CEO of the Markets division have convinced me of two important things. First, no matter what labels we apply to our units, we have great people who are eager to work together to better serve our customers and grow our company. Second, this must be a team effort but with clearly defined roles and accountability for performance. I am looking forward to working closely with Jim, Bob, Stephane and our other leaders to achieve success and excellence at Thomson Reuters.”
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
The company said James Smith, chief executive officer of the professional division, would become chief operating officer immediately. At the same time, the professional and markets divisions are disbanded and will “transition to a set of focused business units” reporting to head office.
Both Daleo and Smith were Thomson Corporation executives when the Toronto-based company bought Reuters in 2008.
“The changes we are announcing today will streamline our organization and enable us to work better across business units to achieve growth and capture operating efficiencies from scale,” said Glocer. “The professional markets in which we operate are marked by increasing collaboration among specialists and Thomson Reuters must operate with the speed and agility needed to serve these demanding professionals.”
Daleo, chief financial officer since 1998, will retire in July 2012 when he turns 63. Stephane Bello, chief financial officer of the professional division, will succeed him as chief financial officer of Thomson Reuters, effective 1 January 2012. Daleo will then serve as vice-chairman of the group until his retirement.
David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters, said: “Bob Daleo has guided the financial operations of the company for more than a decade through three chief executives. Retirement has been anticipated for some time and we shall miss the presence of a trusted and valued colleague. Bob’s contributions to the businesses have been immense. Our evolution into a global electronic information company owes a great debt to him. Bob’s advice and leadership will be sorely missed, but those qualities remain in place over the months ahead to all our benefit.”
“Stephane Bello is the perfect choice to succeed Bob because of his strategic and analytical strengths, proven leadership abilities and deep knowledge of the company and our markets,” said Glocer. “He will work closely with Bob, Jim and me over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition and uphold the high standards of integrity and financial reporting set by Bob Daleo.”
Following the sudden departure in July of Devin Wenig, head of markets, Thomson Reuters promoted Smith, chief executive of the professional division that caters to lawyers, accountants and scientists, to the new role of chief operating officer.
The Financial Times reported that the latest moves take some burden from Glocer, who took hands-on control of markets after Wenig’s exit, which was seen as a sign of the group’s controlling shareholder, Canada’s Thomson family, exerting tighter control.
Glocer told the FT that the split into markets and professional divisions had made sense when Thomson Corporation bought Reuters and needed to concentrate on merging its financial data businesses without distracting its professional units.
“Certainly for the first two years it worked very well like that. This year, I concluded markets wasn’t coming out of the integration the way it needed to and I had to take the first step in July,” he said. “In the perfect world, markets would have been growing faster this year and I would have moved in an orderly way to this structure” in 2012, he said.
The FT said Smith’s promotion could elevate his standing as a possible internal successor to Glocer, who said: “He’s always been in the frame as far as I’m concerned, but I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
In a message to staff, Glocer said his strategic goals were simple: to work better across business units to meet the increasingly complex demands of customers and capture growth opportunities; to leverage Thomson Reuters’ scale and achieve efficiencies by building innovative technology platforms that can be shared across the company; and to square off against competitors as a whole company which is greater than the sum of its parts.
He said the priorities he set in July for the markets division of restarting the sales engine and resetting Eikon in the context of the company’s broader product strategy had not changed, nor had the goal of creating a strong performance culture.
“These last two months acting as both CEO of Thomson Reuters and CEO of the Markets division have convinced me of two important things. First, no matter what labels we apply to our units, we have great people who are eager to work together to better serve our customers and grow our company. Second, this must be a team effort but with clearly defined roles and accountability for performance. I am looking forward to working closely with Jim, Bob, Stephane and our other leaders to achieve success and excellence at Thomson Reuters.”
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
Major Thomson Reuters shake-up claims more scalps
Friday 22 July 2011
A major reorganisation at Thomson Reuters saw the sudden departure of five more senior executives on Friday.
Chris Ahearn, president of media, is leaving the company, along with four others in the markets division which includes Reuters news agency.
Devin Wenig, chief executive of the markets, left yesterday in a re-organisation that the company said aimed to accelerate growth in its financial data business. Second quarter growth in markets has been “somewhat slower than anticipated”, the company said on Thursday. The shares were down more than three per cent in New York on Friday.
Susan Taylor Martin, president of global investment focus accounts, replaces Ahearn as head of media. Tom Glocer, chief executive of the entire group, takes on oversight of markets, assuming Wenig’s role as well as running the whole business. He said: “These changes are intended to accelerate growth as we flatten our organisation to operate as an integrated company and unleash cross-company capabilities and operating synergies.”
Both Ahearn, a former investment banker, and Wenig were executives of Reuters when the company was taken over by Thomson in 2008.
The Financial Times said Wenig’s exit was seen as a sign that Woodbridge, the Thomson family’s holding company, was seeking faster change after 12 months in which its shares have fallen by 9.9 per cent. The Thomsons, Canada’s richest family, own 55 per cent of the business. The FT said the Thomson Reuters board has been looking for new growth strategies as it came to the end of a three-year integration period following the takeover in which cost savings had driven results.
Sources in New York said the Thomsons had decided to give the integration three years to bed down and then act if they thought performance was falling short of expectations.
Glocer said he will manage the financial services business of markets through two closely aligned operating units: Financial Professionals & Marketplaces and Enterprise Solutions. The Financial Professionals & Marketplaces unit will come together over the coming months through the combination of the present Sales & Trading (S&T) and Investment & Advisory (I&A) units. This unit will be led by Shanker Ramamurthy, who joined in May from IBM where he was a general manager and currently runs S&T.
“To give Shanker time to ramp up, I&A will report on an interim basis to Bob Daleo, CFO of Thomson Reuters, who will transition the business to Shanker in a careful and open process,” Glocer said. “Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler will also report directly to me, reflecting the cross-company role of Editorial.”
Glocer will chair a new markets executive committee.
“This transformation is about driving growth, unleashing cross-company capabilities and making it easier to get things done,” he said. “Importantly, it’s also about accountability and transparency. As we work to create a performance-driven culture, let’s make it a culture where results speak the loudest and collaboration is the norm.”
The other senior executives leaving are investment and advisory president Eric Frank, markets global sales and customer service managing director Joerg Floeck, markets chief marketing officer Lee Ann Daly and markets global head of human resources John Reid-Dodick.
Glocer said he was not planning any further changes of this scale at corporate level or in the professional division, where a similar streamlining effort was carried out earlier this year.
● SOURCE Reuters
Chris Ahearn, president of media, is leaving the company, along with four others in the markets division which includes Reuters news agency.
Devin Wenig, chief executive of the markets, left yesterday in a re-organisation that the company said aimed to accelerate growth in its financial data business. Second quarter growth in markets has been “somewhat slower than anticipated”, the company said on Thursday. The shares were down more than three per cent in New York on Friday.
Susan Taylor Martin, president of global investment focus accounts, replaces Ahearn as head of media. Tom Glocer, chief executive of the entire group, takes on oversight of markets, assuming Wenig’s role as well as running the whole business. He said: “These changes are intended to accelerate growth as we flatten our organisation to operate as an integrated company and unleash cross-company capabilities and operating synergies.”
Both Ahearn, a former investment banker, and Wenig were executives of Reuters when the company was taken over by Thomson in 2008.
The Financial Times said Wenig’s exit was seen as a sign that Woodbridge, the Thomson family’s holding company, was seeking faster change after 12 months in which its shares have fallen by 9.9 per cent. The Thomsons, Canada’s richest family, own 55 per cent of the business. The FT said the Thomson Reuters board has been looking for new growth strategies as it came to the end of a three-year integration period following the takeover in which cost savings had driven results.
Sources in New York said the Thomsons had decided to give the integration three years to bed down and then act if they thought performance was falling short of expectations.
Glocer said he will manage the financial services business of markets through two closely aligned operating units: Financial Professionals & Marketplaces and Enterprise Solutions. The Financial Professionals & Marketplaces unit will come together over the coming months through the combination of the present Sales & Trading (S&T) and Investment & Advisory (I&A) units. This unit will be led by Shanker Ramamurthy, who joined in May from IBM where he was a general manager and currently runs S&T.
“To give Shanker time to ramp up, I&A will report on an interim basis to Bob Daleo, CFO of Thomson Reuters, who will transition the business to Shanker in a careful and open process,” Glocer said. “Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler will also report directly to me, reflecting the cross-company role of Editorial.”
Glocer will chair a new markets executive committee.
“This transformation is about driving growth, unleashing cross-company capabilities and making it easier to get things done,” he said. “Importantly, it’s also about accountability and transparency. As we work to create a performance-driven culture, let’s make it a culture where results speak the loudest and collaboration is the norm.”
The other senior executives leaving are investment and advisory president Eric Frank, markets global sales and customer service managing director Joerg Floeck, markets chief marketing officer Lee Ann Daly and markets global head of human resources John Reid-Dodick.
Glocer said he was not planning any further changes of this scale at corporate level or in the professional division, where a similar streamlining effort was carried out earlier this year.
● SOURCE Reuters
No interest in buying print media says Tom Glocer
Friday 06 November 2009
The question was put to the chief executive by correspondent Robert MacMillan, pictured, who covers Thomson Reuters as part of his media beat.
“Covering Thomson Reuters Corp for almost two years has taught me that people like to cast my company in a recurring role in media deal parlor games,” he writes in a Reuters blog. “Now that the company’s arch-rival Bloomberg LP will buy BusinessWeek magazine from McGraw-Hill, lots of my pals in the media world are wondering: Will Thomson Reuters buy a mainstream news or business news magazine? Or newspaper? Why not Forbes? Why not the Financial Times?
“Keep in mind that Thomson Reuters likes to remind people when they ask these questions that Thomson Corp, before buying Reuters, got out of its Canadian newspaper empire for a reason.
“I asked our chief executive, Tom Glocer, a question along these lines on a Thursday phone call he had with reporters to discuss the company’s third-quarter financial results."
Glocer's reply: “Thomson did a remarkable job, far earlier than any other company I know, of seeing what was coming and transitioning their business out of print for the most part… I don’t see any particular time or reason at this juncture why we should go the other way.”
MacMillan returned to the theme when he interviewed Glocer later in the day and used the Financial Times as an example. He got a similarly dismissive response from the CEO.
What about other properties, MacMillan enquired.
"Is it impossible that somewhere in the world that we'd take a print property and move it electronic? No, but we're not looking to go out and buy consumer print publications. That’s not what we think our business is,” Glocer replied.
Robert Daleo, chief financial officer, said Thomson Reuters was a company where “what we shy away from are advertising-based models. We charge for content, we charge for information and news”.
What about reuters.com, an ad-supported site that runs Reuters news? Glocer said: “I would argue that the overwhelming amount of our news is behind the firewall in the sense that you only get it as part of a product that you pay for. It’s great that we have it. I’m very proud of reuters.com. I use it on weekends and evenings when I’m not in front of my bigger service, my subscription service.”
● SOURCE Reuters
Thomson Reuters Q1 profit beats forecasts
Thursday 07 May 2009
Thomson Reuters reported better-than-expected first quarter profit on Thursday as it kept a tight control on costs. The company reaffirmed its expectation that revenue will grow this year.
CEO Tom Glocer said the climate in the market had improved but not enough to rule out further weakness.
"I can't really call exactly where the bottom is. There can be false dawns. Right now sentiment is quite good in the market. We see them opening up their purse strings just a little bit," he said.
The London-listed shares closed a tad under 44 pence lower at 1,812 pence, down 2.37 per cent, after hitting a record high of 1,939 before the results were released.
Greater losses were registered in New York and Toronto.
In New York, Thomson Reuters shares closed 5.73 per cent lower at $29.77, a loss of $1.81.
On NASDAQ, the shares closed at $161.51, down $7.98 or 4.71 per cent.
In Toronto, the fall was 4.75 per cent or C$1.75 to a close of C$35.08.
Thomson Reuters’ Q1 net income was $228 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with $194 million, or 30 cents a share, a year ago.
Underlying operating profit, excluding amortisation, integration costs and other items, rose two per cent to $588 million, or 40 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 34 cents per share.
Revenue from ongoing businesses was $3.12 billion, down three per cent from a year ago but up three per cent before currency effects. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $3.17 billion.
The company reaffirmed its outlook for revenue to grow in 2009, and for underlying operating margin and free cash flow to be comparable to 2008, supported by revenue growth and the expected savings from integration programmes.
Thomson Reuters has said it expects annualised cost savings of $1 billion by the end of 2011, and Glocer said that while this was a good target, he did not rule out more.
Revenue in the Markets division, which supplies news and data to financial institutions, fell seven per cent to $1.85 billion, hurt by lower transaction volumes and job cuts. But the revenue would have risen 0.4 per cent before currency effects.
Though the outlook has brightened in recent weeks, financial institutions have been hit by closures, mergers and deep job cuts, and Reuters reported that the company is regarded by some analysts as the riskiest bet among professional information providers due to its exposure to the financial sector for about 60 per cent of group sales.
But strong execution, a high proportion of subscription and digital revenues, and the resilience of the Professional unit have helped to drive up Thomson Reuters London-listed shares by more than 20 per cent in the year to date.
Revenue at the Professional division, which supplies information to lawyers, scientists, accountants and the healthcare industry, rose two per cent to $1.27 billion, or five per cent excluding currency effects.
Glocer told the Financial Times that Thomson Reuters can take market share from rivals once turbulent financial and legal markets revive.
Bloomberg’s fall in terminal numbers by 2.5 per cent since November suggested “a much stronger descent than we’re seeing” in the markets business where they compete, Glocer said. “I certainly feel we’re at least holding our own.”
Much of the market share gains the group foresees would come from taking over the “do-it-yourself” data efforts of large banks and other customers, he said. Subscriptions had risen by two per cent in the markets business, while transaction revenues had fallen, but would rebound quickly in a recovery, he added.
“It feels like sentiment has changed in the last month,” Glocer told the FT, “but we don’t run our business on the basis that we need to clutch at green shoots.”
Robert Daleo, chief financial officer, said savings from integration were ahead of plan, adding that when combined with earlier initiatives these were on track to meet a $1.4 billion target by 2011.
● CLICK to read a transcript of the analysts’ webcast by Tom Glocer and Robert Daleo.
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
CEO Tom Glocer said the climate in the market had improved but not enough to rule out further weakness.
"I can't really call exactly where the bottom is. There can be false dawns. Right now sentiment is quite good in the market. We see them opening up their purse strings just a little bit," he said.
The London-listed shares closed a tad under 44 pence lower at 1,812 pence, down 2.37 per cent, after hitting a record high of 1,939 before the results were released.
Greater losses were registered in New York and Toronto.
In New York, Thomson Reuters shares closed 5.73 per cent lower at $29.77, a loss of $1.81.
On NASDAQ, the shares closed at $161.51, down $7.98 or 4.71 per cent.
In Toronto, the fall was 4.75 per cent or C$1.75 to a close of C$35.08.
Thomson Reuters’ Q1 net income was $228 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with $194 million, or 30 cents a share, a year ago.
Underlying operating profit, excluding amortisation, integration costs and other items, rose two per cent to $588 million, or 40 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 34 cents per share.
Revenue from ongoing businesses was $3.12 billion, down three per cent from a year ago but up three per cent before currency effects. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $3.17 billion.
The company reaffirmed its outlook for revenue to grow in 2009, and for underlying operating margin and free cash flow to be comparable to 2008, supported by revenue growth and the expected savings from integration programmes.
Thomson Reuters has said it expects annualised cost savings of $1 billion by the end of 2011, and Glocer said that while this was a good target, he did not rule out more.
Revenue in the Markets division, which supplies news and data to financial institutions, fell seven per cent to $1.85 billion, hurt by lower transaction volumes and job cuts. But the revenue would have risen 0.4 per cent before currency effects.
Though the outlook has brightened in recent weeks, financial institutions have been hit by closures, mergers and deep job cuts, and Reuters reported that the company is regarded by some analysts as the riskiest bet among professional information providers due to its exposure to the financial sector for about 60 per cent of group sales.
But strong execution, a high proportion of subscription and digital revenues, and the resilience of the Professional unit have helped to drive up Thomson Reuters London-listed shares by more than 20 per cent in the year to date.
Revenue at the Professional division, which supplies information to lawyers, scientists, accountants and the healthcare industry, rose two per cent to $1.27 billion, or five per cent excluding currency effects.
Glocer told the Financial Times that Thomson Reuters can take market share from rivals once turbulent financial and legal markets revive.
Bloomberg’s fall in terminal numbers by 2.5 per cent since November suggested “a much stronger descent than we’re seeing” in the markets business where they compete, Glocer said. “I certainly feel we’re at least holding our own.”
Much of the market share gains the group foresees would come from taking over the “do-it-yourself” data efforts of large banks and other customers, he said. Subscriptions had risen by two per cent in the markets business, while transaction revenues had fallen, but would rebound quickly in a recovery, he added.
“It feels like sentiment has changed in the last month,” Glocer told the FT, “but we don’t run our business on the basis that we need to clutch at green shoots.”
Robert Daleo, chief financial officer, said savings from integration were ahead of plan, adding that when combined with earlier initiatives these were on track to meet a $1.4 billion target by 2011.
● CLICK to read a transcript of the analysts’ webcast by Tom Glocer and Robert Daleo.
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
Brass for the brass
Monday 30 March 2009
Chief executive Tom Glocer, 49, received a $36.6 million package in 2008.
Chief financial officer Robert Daleo, 59, received $14 million. James Smith, 49, president and chief executive of the professional division, took home $5.2 million.
All three executives received a significant part of their compensation in the form of one-time stock option grants aimed at providing performance incentive.
The figures are disclosed in Thomson Reuters’ annual report published on Monday.
The company is one of the few that managed to avoid getting caught in the financial meltdown that claimed so many victims across the economic spectrum, reporting stellar results for 2008, and it is compensating its executives accordingly, the online Financial Post reported.
"Our overall philosophy regarding executive compensation is to pay for performance," the company’s Management Information Circular stated. "We believe this drives our management team to achieve higher levels of results for the benefit of Thomson Reuters and our shareholders."
In 2008 Q4, Thomson Reuters reported net income of $565 million, or 79¢ a share, compared with $432 million, or 67¢ a share.
The largest component of Glocer's pay package was a one-time grant of 700,000 restricted share units that will vest 20 per cent each year for five years providing performance goals are met. His "normal annual compensation" came in at $8.9 million.
Glocer holds 650,231 Thomson Reuters PLC shares.
Daleo went home with $6 million in normal annual compensation and Smith received $5.2 million.
Less than 20 per cent of the total take-home of top executives is described as base salary. The rest is a mix of cash and stock incentives, pension entitlements and "other" compensation.
Financial Post noted that disclosure of executive compensation comes at a time when companies around the world are under pressure from shareholders to keep a lid on management pay.
Thomson Reuters said it expects higher revenues this year despite continuing turmoil on financial markets thanks to diversification into developing countries that are still experiencing growth.
Shares in Thomson Reuters declined 1.43 per cent to 1510 pence on the London Stock Exchange. Despite considerable volatility, the shares are trading at about the same level as they were at the end of March 2008, Financial Post noted.
● SOURCE Financial Post
Thomson Reuters may post strong results, say analysts
Friday 16 January 2009
Thomson Reuters is expected to post strong results next month, J.P. Morgan Securities analysts said on Friday, even as they downgraded the London-listed shares to "neutral" from "overweight" on valuation.
The analysts raised their price targets on the London- and New York-listed shares of the group and kept their "neutral" stance on the U.S. stock.
"We continue to like the fundamentals of the company but would look for a better entry price into both stocks," they wrote in a note to clients.
The analysts expect the group to report strong results, with potential cost savings and/or some restructuring charges shifting from 2008 to 2009.
But the key risk to the shares is news about financial industry job losses and the market's potential read-through to organic growth at the group's markets division, they said. The markets division includes the Reuters and Thomson news operations as well as financial data and tools for investment banks and other financial firms.
Chief financial officer Robert Daleo said last week that the group's quarterly and annual revenue growth rate would slow, reflecting the effects of the world financial crisis.
J.P. Morgan analysts, however, said any weakness in the group's markets division revenue will be offset by the relative strength in its professional unit, which represented about 60 per cent of profits. The professional division sells databases and other deep information reservoirs to lawyers, accountants, scientists and the healthcare industry.
Cost savings may also largely cushion any markets revenue decline, the analysts added.
They raised their price target on Thomson Reuters’ London shares to 1,750 pence from 1,500 pence, and on Thomson Reuters Corp shares to $26.60 from $26.30.
● SOURCE Reuters
The analysts raised their price targets on the London- and New York-listed shares of the group and kept their "neutral" stance on the U.S. stock.
"We continue to like the fundamentals of the company but would look for a better entry price into both stocks," they wrote in a note to clients.
The analysts expect the group to report strong results, with potential cost savings and/or some restructuring charges shifting from 2008 to 2009.
But the key risk to the shares is news about financial industry job losses and the market's potential read-through to organic growth at the group's markets division, they said. The markets division includes the Reuters and Thomson news operations as well as financial data and tools for investment banks and other financial firms.
Chief financial officer Robert Daleo said last week that the group's quarterly and annual revenue growth rate would slow, reflecting the effects of the world financial crisis.
J.P. Morgan analysts, however, said any weakness in the group's markets division revenue will be offset by the relative strength in its professional unit, which represented about 60 per cent of profits. The professional division sells databases and other deep information reservoirs to lawyers, accountants, scientists and the healthcare industry.
Cost savings may also largely cushion any markets revenue decline, the analysts added.
They raised their price target on Thomson Reuters’ London shares to 1,750 pence from 1,500 pence, and on Thomson Reuters Corp shares to $26.60 from $26.30.
● SOURCE Reuters
Thomson family ‘unhappy’ at UK stock discount
Thursday 08 January 2009
The Thomson family, controlling shareholder in Thomson Reuters, is unhappy at the discount of around 25 per cent of its UK stock trades to the Canadian listing, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Citing gossip, it said there was talk of a possible capital restructuring.
The family funded a buy-back of the London-traded shares in 2008 by selling down its Canadian issues. That triggered speculation it could eventually delist the UK stock entirely, the FT said.
But authorisation for the buy-back expired at the end of last year and cannot be renewed as Thomson Reuters is in a closed period ahead of its 2008 results on 24 February.
Another option to narrow the discount would be to make the two lines of stock fully fungible or mutually interchangeable. However, dealers saw it more likely the family will wait until after the results and reinstate its stock swap, the FT said.
Thomson Reuters closed at 1,458 pence, down two per cent. The slide came in response to UBS “sell” advice and after comments from chief financial officer Robert Daleo to an investor conference that revenue growth this year would slow.
● SOURCE Financial Times
The family funded a buy-back of the London-traded shares in 2008 by selling down its Canadian issues. That triggered speculation it could eventually delist the UK stock entirely, the FT said.
But authorisation for the buy-back expired at the end of last year and cannot be renewed as Thomson Reuters is in a closed period ahead of its 2008 results on 24 February.
Another option to narrow the discount would be to make the two lines of stock fully fungible or mutually interchangeable. However, dealers saw it more likely the family will wait until after the results and reinstate its stock swap, the FT said.
Thomson Reuters closed at 1,458 pence, down two per cent. The slide came in response to UBS “sell” advice and after comments from chief financial officer Robert Daleo to an investor conference that revenue growth this year would slow.
● SOURCE Financial Times
Thomson Reuters looks abroad to make up for Wall Street
Thursday 08 January 2009
Thomson Reuters is facing a “significant reduction” in US business after the collapse of several Wall Street financial institutions, chief financial officer Robert Daleo said on Thursday. But the company is making up for it by focusing on clients abroad.
“We have seen a significant reduction and lost business as a result of Bear Sterns and cutbacks in other areas, but many of our large accounts continue to hold up fairly well,” Daleo said at a media and telecommunications conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
He said Thomson Reuters’ Top 25 accounts (also known as “focus group accounts”) represent about 13 per cent of revenues. However, an internal shift in perspective has helped soften the financial impact of some of the firms closing their doors.
“We have seen, all year long, declines in sales to the focus group accounts, but we have been able to offset those with good performance in other areas,” he said.
“We have continued through the first nine months to see strong performance in places like the Middle East, Asia, and certain segments of Europe.”
Daleo declined to provide Q4 or 2009 forecasts. “We remain very encouraged by the continued performance of the business across all of our units, and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
Daleo said Thomson Reuters has about $8 billion in debt with an average maturity of about six and a quarter years and a 5.5 per cent interest rate. It has also paid off debt from Reuters.
“We really don’t have to go back into the debt markets to refinance our long-term debt in 2009,” he said. In addition, the company has a credit facility of $2.5 billion which he said was “totally untapped”.
Daleo also spoke about the difference between Thomson Reuters share prices in London and Toronto. The London shares trade at a discount of nearly 30 per cent to the Toronto shares and the company has been unable to close the gap.
“We’re prepared to invest the time and energy and effort with our UK investors to help them understand the dynamics of the business,” he said.
The London shares closed down two per cent at 1,458 pence. The Toronto shares closed 5.63 per cent at C$31.99.
● SOURCE The Guardian | The Canadian Press
“We have seen a significant reduction and lost business as a result of Bear Sterns and cutbacks in other areas, but many of our large accounts continue to hold up fairly well,” Daleo said at a media and telecommunications conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
He said Thomson Reuters’ Top 25 accounts (also known as “focus group accounts”) represent about 13 per cent of revenues. However, an internal shift in perspective has helped soften the financial impact of some of the firms closing their doors.
“We have seen, all year long, declines in sales to the focus group accounts, but we have been able to offset those with good performance in other areas,” he said.
“We have continued through the first nine months to see strong performance in places like the Middle East, Asia, and certain segments of Europe.”
Daleo declined to provide Q4 or 2009 forecasts. “We remain very encouraged by the continued performance of the business across all of our units, and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
Daleo said Thomson Reuters has about $8 billion in debt with an average maturity of about six and a quarter years and a 5.5 per cent interest rate. It has also paid off debt from Reuters.
“We really don’t have to go back into the debt markets to refinance our long-term debt in 2009,” he said. In addition, the company has a credit facility of $2.5 billion which he said was “totally untapped”.
Daleo also spoke about the difference between Thomson Reuters share prices in London and Toronto. The London shares trade at a discount of nearly 30 per cent to the Toronto shares and the company has been unable to close the gap.
“We’re prepared to invest the time and energy and effort with our UK investors to help them understand the dynamics of the business,” he said.
The London shares closed down two per cent at 1,458 pence. The Toronto shares closed 5.63 per cent at C$31.99.
● SOURCE The Guardian | The Canadian Press
London shares still lag North America
Wednesday 20 August 2008
Four months and counting since the merger, and Thomson Reuters shares in London still lag those in North America, Financial Post said on Wednesday.
The price gap has been consistent – about 15 to 20 per cent once foreign exchange rates are factored in – and no one is quite sure why, it said.
In a note to clients yesterday, USB analyst Jeffrey Fan reiterated his previous view that the spread is likely to remain into next year.
He believes that differing views of Canadian and European investors on the prospects for the London shares is part of the reason for the gap.
North Americans are more likely to focus on strengths in the Thomson Reuters division that sells specialised legal and scientific data, while Europeans look to risks in the company's business that sells data and equipment to the troubled financial services industry, he said.
At the Thomson Reuters annual meeting in May, chief financial officer Robert Daleo would not speculate about the London discount, Financial Post said.
He only alluded to a significant short position in the North American shares that would take some time to unwind. Short sellers borrow and then sell shares in a company. They want the stock to drop in price so when it is time to return the shares they can buy them back at a cheaper price and pocket the difference.
Fan said the short position in the London shares remains high, at 13.5 per cent, but lower than the 20 per cent figure of last month.
“Observers say it is anyone's guess as to when the gap will narrow. One analyst yesterday compared the situation to a war of attrition,” Financial Post said.
Fan noted that Thomson Reuters vice-chairman Geoffrey Beattie recently sold 40,000 of the North American shares and bought the equivalent of 66,600 shares in London.
The analyst maintains his "sell" rating as he believes a gloomy outlook for global financial services adds risk to the consensus earnings estimates.
● SOURCE Financial Post
The price gap has been consistent – about 15 to 20 per cent once foreign exchange rates are factored in – and no one is quite sure why, it said.
In a note to clients yesterday, USB analyst Jeffrey Fan reiterated his previous view that the spread is likely to remain into next year.
He believes that differing views of Canadian and European investors on the prospects for the London shares is part of the reason for the gap.
North Americans are more likely to focus on strengths in the Thomson Reuters division that sells specialised legal and scientific data, while Europeans look to risks in the company's business that sells data and equipment to the troubled financial services industry, he said.
At the Thomson Reuters annual meeting in May, chief financial officer Robert Daleo would not speculate about the London discount, Financial Post said.
He only alluded to a significant short position in the North American shares that would take some time to unwind. Short sellers borrow and then sell shares in a company. They want the stock to drop in price so when it is time to return the shares they can buy them back at a cheaper price and pocket the difference.
Fan said the short position in the London shares remains high, at 13.5 per cent, but lower than the 20 per cent figure of last month.
“Observers say it is anyone's guess as to when the gap will narrow. One analyst yesterday compared the situation to a war of attrition,” Financial Post said.
Fan noted that Thomson Reuters vice-chairman Geoffrey Beattie recently sold 40,000 of the North American shares and bought the equivalent of 66,600 shares in London.
The analyst maintains his "sell" rating as he believes a gloomy outlook for global financial services adds risk to the consensus earnings estimates.
● SOURCE Financial Post
Tom Glocer to appear on Q2 results webcast
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Thomson Reuters said it will report its second quarter 2008 results on 12 August. CEO Tom Glocer will appear in a live webcast on that day at 10:00 am EDT/3:00 pm BST. Executive vice president and CFO Robert Daleo will also appear.
To view the webcast go to ● www.thomsonreuters.com, click on Investor Relations and then News & Events. It will be archived for those who miss the live cast.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
To view the webcast go to ● www.thomsonreuters.com, click on Investor Relations and then News & Events. It will be archived for those who miss the live cast.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Finance chief buys shares
Thursday 15 May 2008
Thomson Reuters said chief financial officer Robert Daleo spent nearly $300,000 on stock, buying 1,600 American Depositary Shares at $185.90 each. Each ADS is worth six ordinary shares in Thomson Reuters PLC.
He also has 5,105 shares in Thomson Reuters Corporation, which is listed in Toronto.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
He also has 5,105 shares in Thomson Reuters Corporation, which is listed in Toronto.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
TRI/TRIL - an arbitrageur’s dream
Tuesday 13 May 2008
The gap between the prices of Thomson Reuters’ dual-listed shares in London and Toronto has lingered longer than expected, The Globe and Mail said on Tuesday.
When the two shares began trading separately on 17 April and the UK shares (stock symbol TRIL) lagged their Canadian counterpart (stock symbol TRI) by a significant margin logic suggested it would only be a matter of time before they eventually settled at a similar level, since both represent an equal investment in the same assets.
“But for reasons that escape the company and have left investors scratching their heads, the gap between the two has lingered longer than expected – nearly a month...” the newspaper said.
“With that in mind, arbitrageurs are buying the UK-traded Thomson Reuters PLC shares, while shorting Thomson Reuters Corp on the Toronto Stock Exchange, hoping to capitalize on the gap.”
Short selling involves borrowing and then selling shares in a company in expectation of buying them back at a lower price and profiting on the difference.
The Globe and Mail said that once exchange rates are factored in the London shares have been trading at roughly 15-20 per cent less than the Toronto listing.
Company executives acknowledged the discrepancy at the new company’s annual meeting last week in Toronto. But chief financial officer Robert Daleo declined to guess why the discount exists, the newspaper said.
“We do know that there are a lot of shorts that were put on the Thomson stock that have to be unwound and they have to do it over time, so it could take a while,” he was quoted as saying.
“Markets are generally rational, so it may take a little while longer,” he said. “How long? We have no idea. We do know that [the UK price] doesn’t represent the true intrinsic value of the company.”
One arbitrage player who has taken a position in both shares hoping to profit when the gap narrows is New York-based money manager Glazer Capital. Its president, Paul Glazer, is reported to have written more than 80 letters to executives of 14 large institutional investors in Canada, hoping to prod them into buying the UK shares.
“Given that the Canadian and UK shares are, by design, economically equivalent to each other, it defies all financial theory that the shares of one holding company should trade at a 20-per-cent-plus premium to the others that are just as easily obtained,” the newspaper quoted the letter as saying.
“It is hard to explain why a holder of [the Toronto listing] could not sell these shares and buy a 20-per-cent larger interest in the same company by using the proceeds to buy [the UK traded] shares.”
● SOURCE The Globe and Mail
When the two shares began trading separately on 17 April and the UK shares (stock symbol TRIL) lagged their Canadian counterpart (stock symbol TRI) by a significant margin logic suggested it would only be a matter of time before they eventually settled at a similar level, since both represent an equal investment in the same assets.
“But for reasons that escape the company and have left investors scratching their heads, the gap between the two has lingered longer than expected – nearly a month...” the newspaper said.
“With that in mind, arbitrageurs are buying the UK-traded Thomson Reuters PLC shares, while shorting Thomson Reuters Corp on the Toronto Stock Exchange, hoping to capitalize on the gap.”
Short selling involves borrowing and then selling shares in a company in expectation of buying them back at a lower price and profiting on the difference.
The Globe and Mail said that once exchange rates are factored in the London shares have been trading at roughly 15-20 per cent less than the Toronto listing.
Company executives acknowledged the discrepancy at the new company’s annual meeting last week in Toronto. But chief financial officer Robert Daleo declined to guess why the discount exists, the newspaper said.
“We do know that there are a lot of shorts that were put on the Thomson stock that have to be unwound and they have to do it over time, so it could take a while,” he was quoted as saying.
“Markets are generally rational, so it may take a little while longer,” he said. “How long? We have no idea. We do know that [the UK price] doesn’t represent the true intrinsic value of the company.”
One arbitrage player who has taken a position in both shares hoping to profit when the gap narrows is New York-based money manager Glazer Capital. Its president, Paul Glazer, is reported to have written more than 80 letters to executives of 14 large institutional investors in Canada, hoping to prod them into buying the UK shares.
“Given that the Canadian and UK shares are, by design, economically equivalent to each other, it defies all financial theory that the shares of one holding company should trade at a 20-per-cent-plus premium to the others that are just as easily obtained,” the newspaper quoted the letter as saying.
“It is hard to explain why a holder of [the Toronto listing] could not sell these shares and buy a 20-per-cent larger interest in the same company by using the proceeds to buy [the UK traded] shares.”
● SOURCE The Globe and Mail
