RNS Number:3190R
Reuters Group PLC
27 October 2003
REUTERS GROUP PLC - THIRD QUARTER RESULTS
for the three months to 30 September 2003
27 October 2003 11/03
REUTERS THIRD QUARTER REVENUE STATEMENT - DELIVERING ACCORDING TO PLAN
Business performance
Reuters Group
*Group revenue for the three months to 30 September was #789 million
(2002: #855 million), down 8% on an actual basis.
Reuters
*Reuters revenue was #658 million (2002: #716 million), down 12% on an
underlying basis.
*Reuters recurring revenue was #609 million (2002: #654 million), down
10.9% on an underlying basis, slightly ahead of Reuters forecast decline of
11-12%.
Tom Glocer, Reuters Group Chief Executive, said: "Trading performance this
quarter was a little better than expected, driven by a reduction in the overall
rate of net cancellations for the third consecutive quarter. We continued to
gain traction in the US market and saw a seventh big competitive win this year
for Reuters Plus, which was chosen by Fidelity's National Financial to replace
5,000 positions of its in-house system. We now expect the full year decline in
recurring revenue to be 11% or slightly better.
"Fast Forward is now in full swing, so the pace of change has accelerated this
quarter. I was particularly pleased to be able to announce that we have
negotiated an advantageous new commercial deal and stock repurchase agreement
with TIBCO; that Reuters is to become the first company to let its customers
connect with AOL, MSN and other widely used instant messaging networks; and that
we have concluded a financially attractive property deal to bring most of our
London staff under one roof in Canary Wharf.
"At a time when so much of the Reuters story depends on our ability to deliver,
it is particularly encouraging to be able to report that we are executing
according to plan."
Statutory results
Three months to Year to
30 September % Change 31 December
2003 2002 Actual Underlying 2002
Revenue #m #m #m
-------------------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ----------
Reuters 658 716 (8%) (12%) 2,992
Instinet 132 141 (6%) (2%) 592
-------------------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ----------
790 857 (8%) (10%) 3,584
Share of joint ventures 25 28 (12%) (3%) 107
revenue
Intra-group revenue (1) (2) (25%) (26%) (9)
-------------------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ----------
Gross revenue 814 883 (8%) (10%) 3,682
-------------------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ----------
Less share of joint
ventures revenue
(25) (28) (12%) (3%) (107)
-------------------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ----------
Group revenue 789 855 (8%) (10%) 3,575
-------------------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ----------
Underlying percentage change excludes acquisitions and disposals since 1 January
2002 and is stated at constant exchange rates. The only exception is the Island
acquisition, which has been fully integrated within Instinet.
This release includes certain non GAAP figures which are performance measures
used to manage the business. Reconciliations to equivalent UK GAAP figures can
be found at www.about.reuters.com, in the Investors section under Financial
Data.
Reuters Group
Reuters Group (RTR.L; RTRSY.O) revenue for the three months to 30 September 2003
was #789 million, a decline of 8% on an actual basis and 10% on an underlying
basis on the same period last year.
As reported on 22 October, revenue for Instinet Group Incorporated (INGP.O), the
electronic brokerage in which Reuters has a 63% stake, was #132 million for the
third quarter under UK GAAP, a decline of 6% on an actual basis and 2% on an
underlying basis on the same period last year.
Reuters
Reuters core revenue, excluding Instinet and joint ventures, for the three
months to 30 September 2003 was #658 million, down 8% on an actual basis. On an
underlying basis, adjusting for the impact of acquisitions (Multex and AVT),
disposals (Wall Street On Demand) and exchange rate movements, this represents a
12% decline on the same period last year. Movements in exchange rates and a
change in currency mix since the third quarter of 2002 meant that currency
accounted for 1% of the difference between the actual and underlying declines.
Revenue by type
Recurring revenue from subscription products, which represented 93% of Reuters
core revenue for the three months to 30 September 2003, was #609 million, down
10.9% on an underlying basis compared to the same period last year. Third
quarter recurring revenue came in a little ahead of guidance following a
slightly better than expected sales performance, with the quarter showing the
lowest level of net cancellations since the first quarter of 2002. While there
has now been an overall reduction in the average rate of net cancellations for
three successive quarters, this improvement has been driven primarily by the US,
with no evidence yet of any improvement in Europe.
Outright revenue, which represented 3% of Reuters core revenue, was #23 million,
down 30% on an underlying basis compared to the same period last year. While IT
budgets in general remain under pressure, customers are showing some willingness
to invest in projects to attract business from their customers and to improve
compliance. This has led to modest revenue growth in two of Reuters three key
areas of focus - Treasury Solutions and Risk Management. While the third area of
focus - Content Management Systems - saw a revenue decline this quarter compared
to the relatively high levels of activity this time last year, roll out of the
next generation Reuters Market Data System (RMDS) is proceeding according to
plan, with RMDS now being implemented by over half of Reuters largest 25
accounts.
Usage revenue was #26 million, down 9% on an underlying basis. Treasury usage
revenues, boosted by volatile currency markets, showed strong underlying growth
of 20%, with particularly encouraging volume increases in Forwards Matching,
where Reuters is the biggest electronic broker, and in euro/dollar spot. The
underlying decline of 31% in Investment Banking usage revenues was driven by
Bridge Trading, which continued to see year-on-year volume decline but saw an
improvement on the previous quarter.
Recurring revenue by product
Premium tier revenue, which includes Reuters 3000 Xtra, Dealing and
BridgeStation, was #185 million in the third quarter, up 7% on an underlying
basis year-on-year and up 2% from the previous quarter.
The number of premium tier accesses at period end stood at 97,000, up 9% on the
equivalent period last year and 1% since the previous quarter. This growth
continues to be driven by Reuters 3000 Xtra, which saw both net new sales and
installations exceed 3,000 this quarter. To broaden the appeal of Reuters 3000
Xtra to smaller sites, Reuters has also installed 1,500 'thin client' 3000 Xtra
positions worldwide since the launch of this new delivery mechanism in July. The
majority of these are trial installations, to help customers evaluate the
potential to lower their total cost of ownership. Dealing accesses this quarter
saw a similar rate of decline to the previous quarter. The number of mid tier
Reuters Dealing Links (RDL) increased only slightly, reflecting the value of the
premium Dealing desktop in the Treasury market. BridgeStation saw the rate of
decline in accesses slow compared to the previous quarter, as market conditions
improved in the US.
Premium tier revenue per access increased by 1% on an underlying basis compared
to the previous quarter, driven mainly by the change in product mix, with more
3000 Xtra, slightly fewer Dealing positions and fewer BridgeStations. 3000 Xtra
pricing has remained stable, with the 1% decline since the second quarter mainly
due to large installations attracting volume discounts. Average revenue per
access for Dealing was also stable compared to the previous quarter, with a
small increase in the average revenue per access for premium Dealing offset by
the slightly increased proportion of RDLs. BridgeStation revenue per access also
increased, as the proportion of higher priced versions grew.
Recurring revenue from 2000/3000 series products in the third quarter was #84
million, down 37% on an underlying basis year-on-year and 13% on the previous
quarter, driven by cancellations and migrations to 3000 Xtra. Reuters has been
working with its customers to develop migration plans for 2000/3000 series
products, and has now set a global target to complete customer migration by end
2005.
Revenue from mid and low tier products was #67 million, down 12% on an
underlying basis year-on-year and 2% on the previous quarter, with the biggest
loss of accesses continuing to be in the lower priced domestic products.
Recurring revenue from all other sources such as exchange fees, software
maintenance and datafeed site fees was #273 million, down 9% on an underlying
basis year-on-year.
Revenue by customer segment
Revenue from Treasury in the third quarter was #252 million, down 9% on an
underlying basis and 7% on an actual basis. Strong recurring revenue growth from
Reuters 3000 Xtra continued to be offset by declines in 2000/3000 series and
domestic information products, reflecting continuing centralisation of Treasury
desks. Sales activity with Treasury customers is currently focused on rolling
out a series of content and functionality enhancements to ensure that Reuters
products remain deeply embedded in the way existing customers do business, and
on expanding Reuters revenue base in areas of market growth such as automated
bank to buy-side trading links, where the ADT product suite is the market
leader.
Revenue from Investment Banking in the third quarter was #174 million, down 17%
on an underlying basis and 12% on an actual basis. With the release for general
sale of Reuters Knowledge and Reuters Trader, Reuters sales teams can now offer
customers attractive migration paths from their 2000/3000 series and domestic
products, which were the main sources of revenue decline in this segment this
quarter.
Revenue from Asset Management in the third quarter was #157 million, down 13% on
an underlying basis and 9% on an actual basis. Revenue increases from Reuters
3000 Xtra, Datascope (the end-of-day pricing service) and Lipper Funds data were
more than offset by declines in legacy 2000/3000 series and domestic products.
Major areas of sales focus in this segment are BarraTM risk analytics, now
integrated into Reuters 3000 Xtra and BridgeStation, Reuters neutral order
routing network and related services and a new version of the Reuters Portfolio
Management System (RPMS) for the private banking and advisory market.
Revenue from Corporates and Media in the third quarter was #75 million, down 5%
on an underlying basis and 3% on an actual basis, reflecting a robust revenue
performance by core media products as contract renewals were favourably
influenced by Reuters well-received coverage of the conflict in Iraq.
Fast Forward progress review
Reuters continued to make good progress on each of its key Fast Forward
initiatives during the third quarter.
1. Make Reuters information indispensable
Reuters maintained its focus on four key aspects of information - content,
analytics, community building and open access.
This quarter saw further enhancements to Reuters Fixed Income content and
trading capabilities with the addition of JJ Kenny non-taxable Municipal
Securities data and an agreement to distribute JP Morgan's electronic trading
platform (JpeX) to Reuters global client base. Good evidence of content
additions driving new sales came at Deutsche Bank and Scottish Widows, where
there were sales wins for Reuters Research (formerly Multex) products. The
streamlining of the content organisation accelerated, with the introduction of a
single management structure for Editorial and numeric data operations. In
Editorial, the removal of around 20 management positions has been
counter-balanced by the recruitment of over 40 new journalists this year to
produce an increasingly specialised news file to meet customer needs. In numeric
data operations, Reuters announced that it will open a major English-language
content centre in Bangalore, India, in January 2004 to help meet customer demand
for new content while at the same time reducing cost.
In analytics, fund managers now have the option to gain easy access to BarraTM,
the leading source of buy-side risk analytics, through their information
workstations. The project to integrate BarraTM analytics into Reuters 3000 Xtra
and BridgeStation was completed on schedule and the new product versions were
released for sale on 30 September.
Community building activity this quarter focused on Reuters Messaging (RM), with
announcements that Reuters is working with AOL, IBM Lotus and Microsoft to be
the first company to let its customers connect with other instant messaging
services.
Reuters key competitive advantage of providing open access to market data
continued to build this quarter, with more big customers, notably Bank of
America, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch, signing up for Reuters next generation
market data system, RMDS. There is also increasing customer take-up of the
option to run RMDS on the Linux operating system, which offers customers high
potential for cost savings.
2. Move to a new business architecture
Reuters new business architecture is central to its plans to improve customer
service and competitiveness by simplifying the way it operates and realising
economies of scale. Conversations with customers continue to show that they are
receptive to the prospect of a simplified delivery architecture with potential
to help them manage sharply rising market data volumes and lower their total
cost of ownership. Plans remain on track to have the new business architecture
ready to carry new products worldwide in 2004.
3. Simplify and segment our product line
Execution of Reuters segmentation strategy has accelerated during the third
quarter, with further steps to simplify the product line by grouping all
information and transaction products into four 'product families' and plans to
reduce the total number of these products to below 50 by the end of Fast
Forward. So far during 2003, 154 products have been made obsolete, including 40
in Q3, and Reuters is on track to remove another 100 products by year end. New
product releases are going according to plan, with Reuters Knowledge and Reuters
Trader now both released for general sale after successful early access customer
trials.
4. Focus our Solutions business around our products
Reuters new commercial agreement with TIBCO and the announcement that it intends
to reduce its 49% stake in TIBCO are key elements of the move announced by
Reuters in February to slim down and re-focus its Solutions business. Central to
this new agreement are the exclusive rights Reuters retains to sell Market Data
Systems and Risk Management products for the financial services market.
5. Reduce and reshape our cost base
Reuters remains on track to deliver #55 million of net cost savings from Fast
Forward in 2003. While Reuters continues to add staff in key areas of focus such
as client training, front line Editorial and the new development centre in
Bangkok, over 1,000 people have left the company this year.
6. Reinvigorate culture and behaviour
Reuters announced in September that it will move the majority of its London
staff to Canary Wharf in 2005, having seen its New York operation become more
cohesive and customer service oriented when it moved into a single office in
Times Square. In addition to the benefits of having most of its people under one
roof, Reuters will generate annual cost savings of #5 million from this move.
Reuters prospects
As a result of its slightly better than expected performance in the third
quarter, Reuters now expects a full year underlying recurring revenue decline of
11% or slightly better.
In mid January 2004, after analysing its December sales figures, Reuters will
issue a short statement to give recurring revenue guidance for the first quarter
of 2004.
With cost savings continuing to outstrip revenue decline, Reuters remains
confident of exceeding its 2002 full year normalised operating margin
(pre-restructuring) of 13.1% in 2003.
Reuters - 2003 quarterly product statistics
Three months ended % change versus previous quarter
Actual Underlying
September June March September June March
2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Period end user
accesses (000's)
3000 Xtra/Bridge 80 78 77 2% 2% 2%
Premium
Dealing 17 17 18 (2%) (2%) (2%)
-------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Premium Products 97 95 95 1% 1% 1%
2000/3000 Series 77 85 94 (9%) (9%) (4%)
Mid & Low Tier 271 278 280 (2%) (1%) (7%)
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Total 445 458 469 (3%) (2%) (5%)
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Average user
accesses (000's)
Premium Products 96 95 94 1% 1% 3%
2000/3000 Series 81 90 96 (9%) (7%) (7%)
Mid & Low Tier 275 279 291 (2%) (4%) (5%)
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Total 452 464 481 (3%) (4%) (4%)
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Recurring revenue
(#m)
Premium Products 185 185 172 2% 1% -
2000/3000 Series 84 97 106 (13%) (11%) (12%)
Mid & Low Tier 67 66 74 (2%) (4%) (7%)
-------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
336 348 352 (3%) (4%) (5%)
Other recurring revenue 273 283 272 (4%) (2%) (4%)
revenue
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Total 609 631 624 (3%) (3%) (4%)
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Monthly revenue per
access (#)
Premium Products 641 648 610 1% - (3%)
2000/3000 Series 346 360 368 (4%) (4%) (5%)
Mid & Low Tier 81 79 85 - - (1%)
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Average monthly revenue 248 250 244 - - (1%)
per access
------------------ -------- ------ ------ -------- ------ -------
Reuters product statistics - period to 30 September 2003
Nine months Three months
ended ended
30 September 30 September
2003 2003
% change % change
underlying underlying
vs September vs Quarter 3
2002 2002
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Period end user accesses (000's)
3000 Xtra/Bridge Premium 80 13% 80 13%
Dealing 17 (5%) 17 (5%)
------- ---------- ------- -----------
Premium Products 97 9% 97 9%
2000/3000 Series 77 (29%) 77 (29%)
Mid & Low Tier 271 (13%) 271 (13%)
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Total 445 (13%) 445 (13%)
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Average user accesses (000's)
Premium Products 95 10% 96 11%
2000/3000 Series 88 (28%) 81 (27%)
Mid & Low Tier 286 (17%) 275 (16%)
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Total 469 (15%) 452 (14%)
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Recurring revenue (#m)
Premium Products 542 9% 185 7%
2000/3000 Series 287 (34%) 84 (37%)
Mid & Low Tier 207 (10%) 67 (12%)
------- ---------- ------- -----------
1,036 (11%) 336 (12%)
Other recurring revenue 828 (10%) 273 (9%)
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Total 1,864 (10%) 609 (11%)
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Monthly revenue per access (#)
Premium Products 632 (1%) 641 (3%)
2000/3000 Series 364 (9%) 346 (14%)
Mid & Low Tier 81 8% 81 5%
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Average monthly revenue per 245 5% 248 2%
access
--------------------- ------- ---------- ------- -----------
Reuters Group
Revenue analysis - three months to 30 September 2003
Three months to
30 September % Change
2003 2002 Actual Underlying
#m #m
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Recurring 225 247 (9%) (11%)
Outright 11 11 - (3%)
Usage 16 13 17% 20%
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Treasury 252 271 (7%) (9%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Recurring 158 172 (9%) (15%)
Outright 8 10 (25%) (29%)
Usage 8 14 (38%) (31%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Investment Banking & 174 196 (12%) (17%)
Brokerage --------- --------- ------------- ---------
---------------------
Recurring 153 161 (6%) (10%)
Outright 4 9 (54%) (56%)
Usage - 1 (76%) (59%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Asset Management 157 171 (9%) (13%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Recurring 73 74 - (2%)
Outright - 1 - -
Usage 2 3 (41%) (39%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Corporates and Media 75 78 (3%) (5%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Recurring 609 654 (7%) (11%)
Outright 23 31 (26%) (30%)
Usage 26 31 (16%) (9%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Reuters 658 716 (8%) (12%)
Instinet 132 141 (6%) (2%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
790 857 (8%) (10%)
Share of joint ventures 25 28 (12%) (3%)
revenue
Intra-group revenue (1) (2) (25%) (26%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Gross revenue 814 883 (8%) (10%)
Less share of joint ventures (25) (28) (12%) (3%)
revenue
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Group revenue 789 855 (8%) (10%)
--------------------- --------- --------- ------------- ---------
Reuters Group
Revenue analysis - nine months to 30 September 2003
Nine months to Year to
30 September % Change 31 December
2003 2002 Actual Underlying 2002
#m #m #m
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Recurring 686 760 (10%) (9%) 1,000
Outright 32 47 (29%) (32%) 80
Usage 47 41 12% 21% 54
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Treasury 765 848 (10%) (9%) 1,134
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Recurring 492 551 (11%) (14%) 726
Outright 22 31 (34%) (36%) 49
Usage 22 48 (51%) (41%) 59
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Investment Banking & 536 630 (15%) (17%) 834
Brokerage
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Recurring 465 513 (10%) (11%) 674
Outright 12 22 (44%) (47%) 32
Usage 1 3 (76%) (55%) 3
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Asset Management 478 538 (11%) (12%) 709
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Recurring 221 235 (6%) (5%) 307
Outright - 2 - - 2
Usage 7 5 47% 32% 6
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Corporates and Media 228 242 (5%) (6%) 315
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Recurring 1,864 2,059 (10%) (10%) 2,707
Outright 66 102 (35%) (39%) 163
Usage 77 97 (20%) (10%) 122
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Reuters 2,007 2,258 (11%) (12%) 2,992
Instinet 407 442 (8%) (1%) 592
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
2,414 2,700 (11%) (10%) 3,584
Share of joint ventures 75 79 (4%) 6% 107
revenue
Intra-group revenue (5) (7) 25% 24% (9)
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Gross revenue 2,484 2,772 (10%) (9%) 3,682
Less share of joint
ventures revenue (75) (79) (4%) 6% (107)
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Group revenue 2,409 2,693 (11%) (10%) 3,575
-------------------- ------- ------ ------- -------- -----------
Reconciliation of Instinet revenue for the three months to 30 September 2003 and
the nine months to 30 September 2003
The following is a reconciliation of the unaudited revenue for three months to
30 September 2003 and nine months to 30 September 2003 under US GAAP as released
by Instinet on 22 October 2003, to the numbers that are reported for Instinet
under UK GAAP.
Three months to Nine months to
30 September 30 September
2003 2003
---------------------- ------------- -------------
Per Instinet results - US GAAP (US$m) 272 798
Adjustments to UK GAAP
- Soft dollar commission (55) (154)
- Interest (3) (8)
- Investments 1 20
---------------------- ------------- -------------
Instinet results - UK GAAP (US$m) 215 656
---------------------- ------------- -------------
Instinet results - UK GAAP (#m) 132 407
---------------------- ------------- -------------
An exchange rate of US$1.61 has been used, being the average for both the three
months, and the nine months, to 30 September 2003.
Explanation of adjustments
A significant part of the adjustment from US GAAP to UK GAAP relates to soft
dollar activities, primarily relating to the purchase of third party research
products, as well as payments made as part of Instinet's commission recapture
services. Under US GAAP, Instinet reports its transaction fee revenue from these
businesses on a gross basis. Under UK GAAP these revenues and costs are not
grossed up but are netted against each other.
Other revenue adjustments include interest income and movements in the value of
investments held at the balance sheet date including mark-to-market gains and
losses and impairments as well as realised gains and losses on disposals, all of
which are not included as revenue under UK GAAP.
Contacts
Press - UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7542 7800
Simon Walker
simon.walker@reuters.com
Press - USA Tel: +1 646 223 7728
Stephen Naru
stephen.naru@reuters.com
Investors Tel: +44 (0) 20 7542 7057
Miriam McKay
miriam.mckay@reuters.com
Notes
Reuters (www.about.reuters.com), the global information company, provides
indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services,
media and corporate markets. Our information is trusted and drives decision
making across the globe based on our reputation for speed, accuracy and
independence. We have 16,000 staff in 94 countries, including some 2,400
editorial staff in 197 bureaux serving approximately 130 countries, making
Reuters the world's largest international multimedia news agency. In 2002, the
Reuters Group had revenues of #3.6 billion.
Reuters and the sphere logo are the trademarks of the Reuters group of
companies.
Reuters will hold two conference calls, at 09:30 GMT (04:30 EST) and 15:00 GMT
(10:00 EST). To participate, please call Joanne Macaulay in London on +44 (0) 20
7542 7094.
Photographs are available in the Media Library at www.about.reuters.com
Forward-looking statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect
to Reuters Group's financial condition, results of operations and business, and
management's strategy, plans and objectives for the Group. In particular, all
statements that express forecasts, expectations and projections with respect to
certain matters, including trends in results of operations, margins, growth
rates, overall financial market trends, anticipated cost savings and synergies
and the successful completion of restructuring programmes are all
forward-looking statements. These statements involve risk and uncertainty
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may occur in the
future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to:
* Reuters Group's ability to realise the anticipated benefits of its
"Fast Forward" transformation programme
* continued or worsened unfavourable conditions in financial markets
* the impact of currency and interest rate fluctuations on Reuters
Group's reported revenue and earnings
* Reuters Group's exposure to a decline in the valuation of companies in
which it has invested and of its lack of management control over all such
companies
* difficulties or delays that Reuters Group may experience in developing
or responding to new customer demands or launching new products
* the dependency of Reuters Group on third parties for the provision of
certain network and other services
* any significant failures or interruptions experienced by the networks
or systems of Reuters Group and such networks' ability to accommodate increased
traffic
* changes in the regulatory or competitive environment
* adverse governmental action in countries where Reuters conducts
reporting activities
* with respect to Reuters intention to reduce its TIBCO holdings,
whether, when and by what method Reuters undertakes to dispose of the holdings
as well as market conditions at such time or times.
For additional information, please see "Risk Factors" in the Reuters Group PLC
Annual Report and Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December, 2002. Copies of the
Annual Report and Form 20-F are available on request from Reuters Group PLC,
85 Fleet Street, London EC4P 4AJ. Any forward-looking statements made by or on
behalf of Reuters Group speak only as of the date they are made. Reuters Group
does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.
End
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
QRTBQLLLXBBEFBK