First-quarter performance consistent with full-year expectations

NEW YORK – Thomson Reuters (TSX / NYSE: TRI) today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

• Revenues from ongoing businesses grew 1% before currency to $3.1 billion
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 8% to $820 million with a margin of 26.2%, up from 24.4% in the prior-year period
• Underlying operating profit increased 14% to $528 million with a margin of 16.9%, up from 14.9% in the prior-year period
• Adjusted earnings per share were $0.46 versus $0.38 in the prior-year period, up 21%
• $1.1 billion returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends since $1 billion share repurchase program announced in the fourth-quarter of 2013
• 2014 Outlook affirmed

"We are off to a solid start and the first-quarter's performance is consistent with our full-year expectations," said James C. Smith, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. "Overall, I am pleased with the trajectory of the business."

"We continue to make progress, building out a scalable platform for sustainable growth."

Consolidated Financial Highlights

Three Months Ended March 31,

(Millions of U.S. dollars, except EPS and margins)

⁽¹⁾ nm – not meaningful
⁽²⁾ These and other non-IFRS financial measures are defined and reconciled to the most directly comparable IFRS measures in the tables appended to this news release. Additional information is provided in the explanatory footnotes to the appended tables.

• Revenues from ongoing businesses were $3.1 billion, a 1% increase before currency.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 8%, and the corresponding margin was 26.2% versus 24.4% in the prior-year period. The increase was primarily due to lower charges compared to the prior-year period.
• Underlying operating profit increased 14%, and the corresponding margin was 16.9% versus 14.9% in the prior-year period primarily due to lower charges compared to the prior-year period.
• Charges (primarily related to severance) of $10 million were incurred in the quarter compared to $78 million in the prior-year period.
• Adjusted EPS was $0.46 compared to $0.38 in the prior-year period.
• Free cash flow was negative $135 million versus negative $231 million in the prior-year period with the first quarter historically being the weakest of the year. For the full year, the company continues to expect to achieve free cash flow of between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion.

First-Quarter Business Segment Highlights
Unless otherwise noted, all revenue growth comparisons in this news release are before the impact of foreign currency as Thomson Reuters believes this provides the best basis to measure the performance of its business.

As the Financial & Risk segment progresses toward operating on a unified platform, further integrating and simplifying its business, the segment no longer has separate Trading, Investors, Marketplaces and Governance, Risk & Compliance units, and therefore will no longer report on that basis.

Financial & Risk

• Revenues were down 1% due to the impact of negative net sales in 2013. Organic revenues declined 3%.
• Recurring revenues decreased 2% (down 3% organic) due to negative net sales in 2013. Transactions-related revenues increased 3% but were down 4% organically primarily due to lower trading volumes in the foreign exchange market. Recoveries revenues were down 1%.
• By geography, revenues in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were down 3%, revenues in the Americas were flat (down 2% organic) and revenues in Asia were up 1%.
• EBITDA increased 11% primarily due to lower severance charges compared to the prior-year period. The margin was 24.1% compared to 21.5% in the prior-year period.
• Operating profit increased 20% primarily due to lower severance charges compared to the prior-year period. The margin was 14.5% compared to 11.9% in the prior-year period.
• During the quarter, Eikon 4.0 was launched and the Reuters 3000Xtra product was discontinued with users upgraded to Eikon.

Legal

• Revenues increased 2% (flat organic) due to contributions from acquisitions.
• Growth businesses – 44% of Legal revenues – grew 7% (4% organic), driven by strong growth from Elite, Practical Law and FindLaw. Growth businesses represent all of Legal’s revenue excluding US print and online legal information.
• US online legal information – 41% of Legal revenues – declined 2%.
• US print – 15% of Legal revenues – declined 3% and is expected to decline mid-to-upper single digit for the full year.
• EBITDA increased 3% due to revenue flow-through and timing of expenses. The margin was 35.4% compared to 34.8% in the prior-year period.
• Operating profit increased 7% with a margin of 26.8% versus 25.3% in the prior-year period. The increase in the margin reflected lower depreciation and amortization.

Tax & Accounting

• Revenues increased 13% (10% organic) driven by strong growth across the business including the Corporate business, up 22% (14% organic), and the Professional business, up 10%.
• EBITDA increased 17% with a margin of 33.0% compared to 30.9% in the prior-year period. The margin increase was primarily due to flow-through from increased revenues.
• Operating profit increased 22% and the margin was 24.1% compared to 21.8% in the prior-year period.
• Small movements in the timing of revenues and expenses can impact margins in any given quarter for the Tax & Accounting business. Full-year margins are more reflective of the segment’s underlying performance.

Intellectual Property & Science

• Revenues increased 4% (3% organic), driven by recurring revenue growth of 5% and transaction revenue growth of 3%. IP Solutions grew 2%, Life Sciences increased 5% and Scientific & Scholarly Research increased 9%.
• EBITDA increased 3% due to revenue flow-through. The margin was 29.6%, down 40 basis points, compared to the prior-year period due to the dilutive effect of acquisitions made in 2013.
• Operating profit was flat. The margin was 21.0% compared to 21.9% in the prior-year period.
• Small movements in the timing of revenues and expenses can impact margins in any given quarter for the Intellectual Property & Science business. Full-year margins are more reflective of the segment’s underlying performance.

Corporate & Other (Including Reuters News)

Reuters News revenues for the first quarter of 2014 were $79 million, down 1% from the prior-year period. Corporate & Other costs for the first quarter of 2014 were $62 million, compared to $59 million in the prior-year period.

Business Outlook (Before Currency)

Thomson Reuters today reaffirmed its full-year business outlook for 2014 which was previously communicated in February 2014. The company continues to expect:

• revenues to be comparable to 2013;
• adjusted EBITDA margin to range between 26% and 27%;
• underlying operating profit margin to range between 17.0% and 18.0%; and
• free cash flow to range between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion in 2014.

The company's 2014 outlook includes the impact of $120 million of previously announced charges expected to be incurred this year. The estimated aggregate amount of these charges is $395 million, $275 million of which was incurred in 2013. The free cash flow outlook for 2014 reflects the estimated impact of the charges incurred in 2013 and 2014 as well as the impact of the loss of free cash flow from disposals (approximately $375 million in aggregate).

The information in this section is forward-looking and should be read in conjunction with the section below entitled "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements, Material Assumptions and Material Risks."

Dividend and Share Repurchases

As previously announced, Thomson Reuters board of directors approved a $0.02 per share annualized increase in the dividend to $1.32 per share. A quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share is payable on June 16, 2014 to common shareholders of record as of May 22, 2014.

In October 2013, the company announced that it plans to repurchase $1.0 billion of its shares by the end of 2014. In the first quarter of 2014, the company returned approximately $264 million to shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 7.5 million shares. From October 2013 through the end of the first quarter of 2014, the company repurchased 15.5 million shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $564 million.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges (symbol: TRI). For more information, go to http://thomsonreuters.com/.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

Thomson Reuters prepares its financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

This news release includes certain non-IFRS financial measures. Thomson Reuters uses these non-IFRS financial measures as supplemental indicators of its operating performance and financial position. These measures do not have any standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to the calculation of similar measures used by other companies, and should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS. Non-IFRS financial measures are defined and reconciled to the most directly comparable IFRS measures in the appended tables.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, MATERIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND MATERIAL RISKS

Certain statements in this news release, including, but not limited to, statements in the "Business Outlook (Before Currency)" section and Mr. Smith’s comments, are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements also include expectations regarding the 2014 charges. As a result, forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. There is no assurance that the events described in any forward-looking statement will materialize. A business outlook is provided for the purpose of presenting information about current expectations for 2014. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which reflect expectations only as of the date of this news release. Except as may be required by applicable law, Thomson Reuters disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

The company's 2014 business outlook is based on various external and internal assumptions. Economic and market assumptions include, but are not limited to, GDP growth in the countries where Thomson Reuters operates. Internal financial and operational assumptions include, but are not limited to, continuing operational improvement in the Financial & Risk business and the successful execution of new sales initiatives, ongoing product release programs, globalization strategy and other growth and efficiency initiatives.

Some of the material risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, changes in the general economy; actions of competitors; failure to develop new products, services, applications and functionalities to meet customers' needs, attract new customers or expand into new geographic markets and identify areas of higher growth; increased accessibility to free or relatively inexpensive information sources; failures or disruptions of network systems or the Internet; failure to maintain a high renewal rate for subscription-based services; dependency on third parties for data, information and other services; changes to law and regulations, including the impact of the Dodd-Frank legislation and similar financial services laws around the world; failure to adapt to recent organizational changes and effectively implement strategic initiatives; failure to recruit, motivate and retain high quality management and key employees; failure to meet the challenges involved in operating globally; failure to derive fully the anticipated benefits from existing or future acquisitions, joint ventures, investments or dispositions; failure to protect the brands and reputation of Thomson Reuters; impairment of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets; inadequate protection of intellectual property rights; threat of legal actions and claims; risk of antitrust/competition-related claims or investigations; downgrading of credit ratings and adverse conditions in the credit markets; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and interest rates; the effect of factors outside of the control of Thomson Reuters on funding obligations in respect of pension and post-retirement benefit arrangements; and actions or potential actions that could be taken by the company’s principal shareholder, The Woodbridge Company Limited. These and other factors are discussed in materials that Thomson Reuters from time to time files with, or furnishes to, the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Thomson Reuters annual and quarterly reports are also available in the "Investor Relations" section of http://thomsonreuters.com/

Thomson Reuters will webcast a discussion of its first-quarter 2014 results today beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). You can access the webcast by visiting the "Investor Relations" section of http://thomsonreuters.com. An archive of the webcast will be available following the presentation.