The world's biggest financial information provider, Reuters Group, has reported a 6% fall in group revenues, reflecting tough times at its electronic broking subsidiary, Instinet Group.
Reuters revenues totalled £912 million sterling for the three months to the end of March - toward the lower end of market expectations. Media analysts had been expecting revenues of £920 million to £930 million.
The result included a 39% fall in the contribution from Instinet, once the group's main growth engine, and a 5% rise in the group's core revenues to £762 million.
Reuters' core business - mainly the provision of news and data to financial institutions worldwide - included revenue from recently acquired Bridge Information Systems, an ex-rival. Underlying revenue, which excludes Bridge, fell 2%.
The group forecast a 5-6% fall in underlying subscription revenues in the second half of this year, and held to its forecast of a 2-3% decline in the first.
A sharp fall in financial markets over the past year, especially in the equities market, is finally catching up with Reuters. Its core business takes time to feel the impact of a sustained downturn because many of its biggest customers are signed up to term contracts that can take time to unwind.
