Tax & Accounting revenue dropped to $218 million for the most recently ended period, off from $222 million a year earlier. EBIDTA dropped to $84 million, down 8 percent from $92 million in last year’s corresponding period. That was a decrease of 6 percent in constant currency.

The revenue shift occurred because UltraTax was released in December, instead of in January, the previous practice. If UltraTax had been released in January, revenue would have been up 6 percent for the quarter. The change is permanent. The unit was also affected by the sale of the Government business in November.

“We were confident that Tax & Accounting was on track to achieve revenue growth of between 6 percent and 8 percent for the balance of the year prior to the impact we are now expecting to experience from COVID-19,” CEO Stephen John Hasker said during the week’s webcast of earnings for the quarter. The company plans to cut $100 million in costs because of the pandemic’s impact.

Company revenue was $1.52 billion for the first quarter, a rise of 2 percent from $1.49 billon a year earlier. Thomson’s largest segment, Legal Professionals reported revenue of $626 million, an increase of 4 percent from $600 million; up 5 percent in constant currency.

Net earnings rose 86.5 percent to $194 million from $104 million.