Thomson Reuters names Steve Hasker new CEO, tops Q4 expectations, raises dividend

TORONTO – Thomson Reuters says Steve Hasker has been appointed as the company’s next president and chief executive.

He will replace Jim Smith, who will become chairman of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The company also announced that Mike Eastwood, senior vice-president and head of corporate finance, will succeed Stephane Bello as chief financial officer. Bello will become vice-chairman of Thomson Reuters with responsibility for overseeing its investment in Refinitiv, which is expected to be sold to London Stock Exchange Group in the second half of the year.

The changes in the executive suite which are effective March 15 came as Thomson Reuters reported its latest results and raised its quarterly dividend to 38 cents compared with its earlier rate of 36 cents.

Thomson Reuters, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, earned a fourth-quarter profit of US$1.32 billion or US$2.64 per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31. That compared with a profit of nearly US$3.38 billion or US$6.13 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2018 when it sold its financial and risk business.

On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 37 cents per share compared with an adjusted profit of 19 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 33 cents per share for the quarter, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020.

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