Overall, revenues from ongoing businesses were $3.2 billion, a three per cent increase before currency with the legal, tax, accounting and intellectual property businesses all performing well.

However, once again, the biggest unit, financial and risk, saw Q2 revenues fall three per cent to $1.79 billion. Adjusted Ebitda was down 13% to $460 million and operating profit fell 129% to $306 million.

One bright note was the traction gained by the firm's flagship Eikon desktops, which had seen disappointing take up. There were over 19,000 at the end of the second quarter, up approximately 20% from the end of the Q1.

In a conference call, quoted by Reuters, chief executive James Smith revealed: "It is fair to say the external environment is worse than we had expected at the beginning of the year, particularly in Europe and with the big global banks."

"While we remain confident in the trajectory of our business, achieving positive net sales in the fourth quarter will be challenging as the market environment continues to deteriorate."