Reuters, the news and information group, said sales of its core products had exceeded cancellations for the first time since 2001, leading to a lower-than-expected 8.2% decline in first quarter revenues to £598m (€896.3m).

The group, which has seen contract cancellations dominate its recurring revenues for the past three years, said it had seen a noticeable improvement in trading conditions which meant subscription cancellations were down 8.4%, slightly less than the 9% Reuters had forecast at the beginning of this year.