Thomson Reuters to cut 2,500 jobs

NEW YORK (AP) — News and financial information company Thomson Reuters says it's cutting 2,500 jobs this year as it tries to cut costs and turn around its largest division.

CEO Jim Smith told analysts on a conference call Wednesday that the company is eliminating the positions from its Financial and Risk division, which accounts for just over half its revenue. Thomson Reuters has about 60,000 employees.

"These are not easy decisions, but our cost structure has to meet our customer's requirements," Smith said.

The company, based in New York, earned $372 million, or 45 cents per share, in the October to December period. That's up from a loss of $2.6 billion, or $3.11 per share, in the period a year earlier, when it took a $3 billion charge related to the declining value of its financial services business.

Excluding one-time items, Thomson Reuters' adjusted earnings were 60 cents per share in the latest quarter, up from 54 cents a year ago.

Revenue fell 5% to $3.4 billion from $3.58 billion due to divestitures. It was up 2% when factoring those out.

Analysts were on average expecting adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share on revenue of $3.37 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

Smith said the company is making progress on its key priorities, which include investing in growing sectors like intellectual property protection and legal information.

The stock fell, but is still close to a 52-week high of $31.18, which it hit two weeks ago.

For the full year, Thomson Reuters earned $2.07 billion, or $2.49 per share, on revenue of $13.3 billion. That compares with a loss of $1.39 billion, or $1.67 per share, on revenue of $13.8 billion in 2011.