REUTERS GROUP PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 1999

TO FIND OUT MORE VISITwww.reuters.com/Reuters Information (RI) is responsible for thedevelopment and sale of information products forprofessionals in financial institutions and their clients.Brad Rickerby/ReutersTom Glocer, Chief ExecutiveReuters Information.99 98 97Revenue 1,619 1,531 1,477Cost (1,366) (1,373) (1,320)Contribution 253 158 157Margin 16% 10% 11%Employees 9,239 9,306 8,863The division’s broad product rangeextends from full service information andsoftware applications for traders in thedealing room, brokers and investmentmanagers, through to internet-deliveredsolutions linking financial professionalsto their clients. 3000Xtra launched in1999 is our new flagship professionalproduct exploiting the latestdevelopments in applicationstechnology.RI had a successful year financially in1999 showing good profit growth againsta background of revenues building moreslowly. As described below, we aremaking the investments we believe areneeded to grow our business in theyears ahead.The professional financial market issegmenting into two groups: a moremature, upper segment of around amillion users expanding at single-digitgrowth rates; and a larger enterprisewidemarket with faster growth in usersand revenue. RI is well positioned inboth these segments. In 1999 thenumber of users of the upper tier 3000product line grew to 71,000 and thenumber of off-trading floor users grewto just short of 100,000.The market consisting of the clients(both individual and institutional) offinancial professionals is expanding evenmore rapidly. In close co-operation withthe Reuters Trading Solutions division(RTS), we offer a variety of solutions toenable financial professionals to deliverReuters content to their clients.We have announced a major investmentprogramme costing £500 million toaccelerate the transformation of RI’sbusiness to an IP-based, e-commercemodel. This investment includes areorganisation charge of £300 millionover the next two years and a further £50million per annum over four years todevelop e-architecture. This migrationwill be facilitated by the recentlyannounced joint venture with Equant tocreate a business-to-business IP network.Through these investments, we expectto expand our customer base by offeringnew products at more price points,delivered and supported through a lowercost infrastructure. We will also workclosely with RTS and Reuterspace tobuild loyal communities of users offinancial information and applications.We are excited about the challengeahead of us and believe we have thepeople, skills and resources to succeed.10 Reuters Group PLC Annual Report 1999