Reuters blamed the losses on its online offering Instinet and restructuring charges of £156m. The loss is the company's first since it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984.
Group revenue was down 5% to £1.8bn, as Instinet saw revenues dive 38% to £301m. Reuters financial services arm saw its revenues climb 5% to £1.5bn.
The restructuring is part of a programme by new chief executive Tom Glocer, who aims to save the company £100m over five years by streamlining units such as customer service and sales, and moving its operations online.
In a statement, Glocer said: "In October 2001, we announced a five-year strategy to reshape Reuters' business to deliver sustainable, double-digit earnings growth. We said then that the first phase would focus on earnings growth from margin improvement."
He added: "Six months into this five-year plan, we are hard at work transforming Reuters. We continue to have much work to do, but are pleased with our progress in challenging trading conditions."
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