Barclays reports first half profit falls 9%, announces US$960 million buyback

BARCLAYS reported a lower than expected 9 per cent fall in first half pretax profit, as a strong performance from its investment bank compensated for declining income in its core UK businesses.

The bank’s profit of £4.2 billion (S$7.19 billion) for the six months ended June was above the £3.8 billion average of analysts’ forecasts, and down from £4.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

The British bank also announced a US$963.08 million buyback, in line with analysts’ expectations, and a 2.9 pence per share dividend.

Barclays said it was upgrading several longer term return targets, including return on tangible equity (Rote), targeting a greater than 12 per cent Rote by 2026.

The lender also outlined an income goal of £30 billion by the same year.

Barclays reported income in its investment bank rose 10 per cent for the first quarter, in common with Wall Street rivals that benefited from a bumper second quarter for trading desks, especially in equities.

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Barclays reported equities income for the second quarter rose 24 per cent, compared with an 18 per cent increase for Morgan Stanley, 7 per cent for Goldman Sachs and 21 per cent for JPMorgan. REUTERS