The Dividend Daily

Before the bell on Wednesday, business data provider Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI) reported a slight rise to its adjusted operating profit, topping expectations, on the back of continued cost cutting.

The New York-based company said its fourth quarter profit was $372 million, or 45 cents per share, versus a loss of $2.57 billion, or $3.11 per share, in the year ago quarter.

Adjusted earnings also increased, coming in at $497 million, or 60 cents per share, from $445 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. According to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, the company was expected to earn an adjusted 55 cents per share in the fourth quarter.

Revenue from ongoing business in the quarter rose about 2% to $3.36 billion before accounting for foreign currency exchange. Analysts were projecting revenue to be $3.37 billion for the quarter. Looking forward, the company expects revenue to grow in the low single-digits in 2013 as the division that serves financial institutions begins to turnaround.

Also on Wednesday, Thomson Reuters’ board approved a 2 cents per share increase to its annualized dividend payout, from $1.28 per share to $1.30 per share. The company will pay a quarterly dividend of 32.5 cents per share to shareholders on March 15 with an ex-dividend date of February 23.

Thomson Reuters shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Wednesday. Over the past twelve months the stock is up about +16%.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Thomson Reuters (TRI) have a dividend yield of 4.24% based on last night’s closing price of $30.65 and the company’s updated annualized dividend payout of $1.30 per share.

Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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