UPDATE: Thomson Reuters Reports Q4 Profit

posted a profit in its fourth quarter and lifted its annual dividend by $0.02 per share. The New York-based company posted a quarterly profit of $1.15 billion, or $1.43 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $351 million, or $0.43 per share. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $0.53 per share. Its revenue gained 1% to $3.21 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.46 per share on revenue of $3.26 billion. In the quarter, Thomson Reuters returned around $297 million to shareholders through the repurchase of around 7.8 million shares. "2014 was a year of solid progress with good execution across the company, and marks the third consecutive year when we have met, or exceeded, our financial outlook," said James C. Smith, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. "Our Financial business recorded its first year of positive net sales since 2008, and our Professional businesses continued to build from a solid foundation and take advantage of attractive growth opportunities. I am pleased to say that we expect to return to organic revenue growth and achieve greater profitability in 2015." Thomson Reuters shares fell 0.40% to close at $39.59 yesterday.