Thomson Financial third quarter revenues declined three per cent to $380 million over the comparable period in 2001, reflecting continued weaknesses in the global financial markets.
Despite the revenue decline, net earnings in the financial division increased by one per cent to $99 million. The company attributes the gain to a "continued emphasis on cost controls and platform consolidation that will continue throughout this year and next".
Thomson says results have been buoyed by solid performance in Financial's Corporate business, which serves publicly held corporations with equity markets information and advisory services.
Thomson Beta Systems - which achieved some notoriety at the Swift exhibition in Geneva this year by sacking half the staff managing its stand during the week-long event - and Omgeo, the joint venture between Thomson ESG and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, were each singled out for delivering "solid revenue gains" in the quarter.
Richard Harrington, president and chief executive officer of The Thomson Corporation, comments: "We remain on track to meet our full year growth targets for 2002, but we expect the difficult market conditions to extend into next year, which could challenge our growth in 2003."