In trading this morning Reuters shares were up 35.5p, or 9.79%, to 398p as restructuring and cost cutting starts to pay off.
Reuters reported pre-tax profits of £190m for 2003 compared with market forecasts of around £110m-£150m.
Reuters said that January was the best month for sales it had experienced since May 2001. Analysts said that the results showed that the worst seems to be over with cost cutting coming through better than expected.
On the back of the cost-cutting, revenue growth is also improving. Reuters said that subscription revenues, which are the core of turnover, were down 10.2%, less than it had forecast.
Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer said: "Our full-year results show that Reuters is on the road to recovery with the worst of our revenue declines behind us.
"In the core business, we have made good progress towards becoming more competitive, less complex, more service-orientated and more efficient. We maintained cost discipline and generated sufficient earnings and cash flow from the core business to cover the dividend."
Glocer said that Reuters was only a third of the way through its Fast Forward transformation programme and there was still much work to be done. He said the company cut £75m under Fast Forward last year, which was above the original target of £45m.
"The progress we have made on our product line, customer service levels and cost base confirms that the expected benefits are starting to come through," he said.
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