Aug 1 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters ( TRI ) reported

second-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations as

revenue rose 6% and it continued to aggressively deploy

artificial intelligence technology for its customers.

The company now forecasts full year revenue at the high end

of projections, or a rise of about 7%.

Steve Hasker, President and CEO, said in an interview after

publishing financial results, "We remain highly encouraged by

the customer reaction to our new AI driven products" that

include generative AI products such as Westlaw AI and CoCounsel.

CoCounsel is a chat-based generative AI (GenAI)

assistant that can help draft documents, sift through research

and locate information scattered across different sources for

legal professionals.

Technology company investors have questioned whether the

euphoria over the productivity and cost-saving benefits of the

new technology popularized by OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's

Copilot services are actually translating to usage across

workforces.

Thomson Reuters ( TRI ) Chief Financial Officer Mike Eastwood

said the company would begin providing a new generative AI-type

metric to help directly address questions on customer usage of

new products.

"So far so good," Eastwood said, pointing to the

company's sales forecast as an indication of its confidence

level in generative AI yielding returns.

In a survey of 2,200 professionals in industries served

by Thomson Reuters ( TRI ) that the company published in early July, it

estimated AI could save workers 12 hours per week or about 200

hours annually by 2029.

The Toronto-based content and technology company reported

quarterly revenue of $1.74 billion, up from $1.65 billion a year

earlier. Wall Street had expected $1.75 billion in the quarter,

according to LSEG data.

Operating profit fell 50% to $415 million, falling short of

expectations of $463 million. The 2023 period included a $347

million gain on the sale of a business. Adjusted earnings,

excluding one time items, came it at 85 cents per share, versus

82 cents expected.

Revenue in the "Big 3" segments of the company comprised of

legal, tax and accounting and corporates, rose 7%.

Reuters News revenue rose 7% on growth in its agency

business and contractual price increases with the London Stock

Exchange.

The company completed a $1 billion share buyback program

in the second quarter. It has also sold off the remaining stake

in LSEG it jointly owned with a Blackstone consortium,

generating gross proceeds of $600 million.

Executives said capital expenditure as a percentage of

revenue, or what it calls capital intensity, is expected to

remain at 8.5% this year and at around 8% for 2025 and 2026.