Barclays reports first half profit falls 9%, announces US$960 million buyback
A strong performance from its investment bank compensated for declining income in its core UK businesses
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.
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
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