EARNINGS : Thomson Reports Profit Drop

Thomson Corp., parent of the newspaper giant, today reported six-month earnings of $112 million, or 21 cents a share, a 25% drop from $150 million, or 28 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues edged up to $2.38 billion from $2.29 billion in the first six months of 1989.

Thomson said its results reflected increased interest costs to finance a high level of spending on acquisitions and that 1989’s results benefited from a $53-million gain from the sale of a stake in Reuters.

“It is now becoming increasingly evident that the economic downturn affecting our businesses is more severe than had been predicted,” Thomson said. The company’s newspaper division continued to be hit by lower advertising lineage levels and a low rate of revenue growth, the company said.

Thomson operates in newspaper, information and business publishing and travel sectors. The company publishes daily newspapers across Canada, the United States and Britain.