Falling terminal sales have prompted Bloomberg to make one-off payments to staff whose pay packages would otherwise have come in more than 20 per cent below expectations.

In a rare disclosure by the privately held news and data company, Bloomberg said its total terminal numbers had fallen by 11,470, or 4 per cent, from a peak last November of 286,800. Sales of its distinctive black screens had been growing at 25,000-30,000 a year.