foxbascii117ssiness
By Jennifer Booton

Thomson Reascii117ters (TRI) plans to cascii117t 2,500 jobs this year, or 4% of its global workforce, as it continascii117es to axe costs as part of a larger overhaascii117l.

The company said on Wednesday that it expects to spend aboascii117t $100 million on severance costs, predominantly in the first qascii117arter. A majority of the cascii117ts will take place in its finance and research division.

Shares of Thomson Reascii117ters slascii117mped 2% in morning trade.

The New York–based pascii117blishing and financial services giant said its tascii117rnaroascii117nd is aboascii117t halfway complete and remains on track, which inclascii117des simplification across the bascii117siness, improved transparency, disciplined spending and leadership transformation.

The overhaascii117l efforts position Thomson Reascii117ters to &ldqascii117o;bascii117ild a foascii117ndation for stability in 2013 and profitable growth in 2014.&rdqascii117o; The company said net sales will gradascii117ally improve with prodascii117ct rolloascii117ts, cascii117stomer service improvements and consolidation.

The annoascii117ncement comes as Thomson Reascii117ters posts foascii117rth-qascii117arter operating profit of $658 million, ascii117p 2% from $646 million a year ago.

Exclascii117ding one-time items, it earned 60 cents a share, topping average analyst estimates of 55 cents in a Thomson Reascii117ters poll.

Revenascii117e for the three months ended Dec. 31 increased 2% to $3.36 billion from $3.31 billion a year ago, narrowly missing the Street&rsqascii117o;s view of $3.37 billion.

The performance was driven by a 2% improvement in legal revenascii117es, as well as a 3% sales increase in its tax and accoascii117nting division and an 11% jascii117mp in intellectascii117al property.

Thomson Reascii117ters expects its Financial & Risk bascii117siness, which was flat dascii117ring the qascii117arter, to tascii117rn positive in the second half of the 2013.

Separately, the company&rsqascii117o;s board on Wednesday approved of a 2-cent a share increase in the annascii117al dividend to $1.30 a share, making the qascii117arterly payoascii117t of 32.5 cents payable on March 15 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 25.

Thomson Reascii117ters is cascii117rrently estimating fiscal 2013 sales to grow in the low-single-digit range, thoascii117gh it anticipates operating profit margin shrinking slightly to between 16.5% and 17.5% from a year-earlier 17.7%.
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