LONDON, August 12, 2008 (AFP) - Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of financial data, said on Tuesday that sales and profits surged in the second quarter of the year despite challenging economic conditions.

Revenue jumped 11 percent to 3.4 billion dollars (2.3 billion euros) in the three months to June 30, the newly formed group announced in an earnings statement.

The result was on a comparable basis, meaning that they were calculated as if Thomson Corp and Reuters had already been trading as a combined group during the same period of last year.

So-called pro-forma, underlying operating profit advanced by 15 percent to 708 million dollars in the second quarter.

Canada's Thomson Corp completed its purchase of British-based media and information group Reuters last April in a deal agreed last year worth 8.7 billion pounds (11.5 billion euros, 17 billion dollars).

'Our strong second-quarter results reflect continued momentum among our diverse set of businesses,' said group chief executive Thomas Glocer in comments accompanying the results.

'We are encouraged by the robust revenue growth which we achieved despite the backdrop of a challenging economic environment.

'In light of our solid first-half results and continued positive sales momentum across the company, we are confident in confirming our full-year revenue and margin outlook.'

The group, which has 50,000 employees in 93 countries around the world, has previously forecast revenue growth of between six and eight percent this year.

Thomson Reuters added that it was greatly benefiting from its leading positions in areas including foreign exchange, commodities, energy, corporate and emerging markets.

However, shares fell 4.36 percent to 1,491 pence in late afternoon trading on London's FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.03 percent at 5,543.40 points.

Thomson Reuters is the second biggest global provider of financial information, according to recent research from consultancy Inside Market Data, which showed it held 32.3 percent of the market in 2007. Bloomberg was the number one with a market share of 32.7 percent.

The creation of Thomson Reuters combined Thomson Corp's presence in the United States with Reuters' penetration of markets for trading, financial and business information in Britain and continental Europe.

The group spans sectors including accounting, finance, healthcare, law, media and science.