Thomson Reuters has reported its first quarterly results since completing its merger in April and has posted a 12 per cent revenue increase.

For the three months to March 31st 2008, the companies posted a combined revenue increase of 12 per cent to $3.3 billion (£1.67 billion).

Operating profit for Thomson, which took over Reuters, was $216 million (£109.4 million) for the first quarter, a four per cent decline compared to last year’s $225 million (£113.9 million). The fall was due to the costs of acquiring the news agency and its Thomsonplus initiative, the company said.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported operating profit was $335 million (£169.6 million) in the first quarter, representing a 242 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2007.

Pro forma first-quarter underlying operating profit rose 37 per cent to $579 million (£293.24 million), assuming that Thomson and Reuters had been one company a year ago.

Canadian publisher Thomson bought Reuters for $17 billion (£8.6 billion) in cash and stock, closing the deal on April 17th.

Chief executive Thomas Glocer said: “Our combined first quarter results and guidance for the full year reflect the robustness of our business, even in turbulent markets.”

The company forecast full-year revenue growth to be between six per cent and eight per cent, with an underlying operating profit margin of between 19 per cent and 21 per cent.

Thomson Reuters shares climbed 0.16 per cent to $37.66 (£19) at 16:10 BST on the NYSE in afternoon trading.