Global Courant 2023-04-27 11:42:53
The headquarters of Barclays Plc beyond the West India Quay Docklands Light Railway station in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, UK, on Monday, March 20, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — Barclays on Thursday reported net profit of £1.78 billion ($2.2 billion) for the first quarter, beating expectations and rising 27% year-on-year.
A Reuters consensus poll of analysts forecast net profit of £1.432 billion.
On a branch basis, revenues for the bank’s consumer, cards and payments division were up 47%, offsetting growth of just 1% in the corporate and investment banking division. It attributed this in part to its acquisition of retailer Gap’s credit card portfolio.
Barclays UK revenues were up 19% driven by improved net interest income.
The bank also flagged £500m in credit loss charges, which it said resulted from higher US card balances and the “ongoing normalization expected in US card delinquencies”.
Impairments are used by companies to write off assets. In its earlier results, Barclays said it earmarked £1.2 billion for such costs last year as its customers struggled with cost pressures.
On schedule
Barclays said it remains “on track to meet its 2023 targets with all performance metrics in line with or ahead of guidance” in the first quarter.
Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan described it as a “strong” quarter, with revenues up 11% to £7.2 billion.
“The momentum across the group enables us to maintain a robust capital position, provide attractive returns to shareholders and support our clients and customers in an uncertain economic environment,” he said in a statement.
The results come after a turbulent period for the global banking sector, which saw the collapse The US-based Silicon Valley Bank and several other regional lenders in early March and the rapid acquisition of Credit Switzerland by Swiss rival UBS.
Earlier on Thursday, Deutsche Bank reported first-quarter net profit of 1.158 billion euros ($1.28 billion), above a consensus forecast of 864.54 million euros.
The bank was briefly swept up in banking volatility last month as its stocks plummeted and credit default swaps – a form of insurance for a company’s bondholders against default – rose sharply.
Market watchers turn their attention to US banks again this week after First Republic revealed heavier-than-expected deposit outflows in the first quarter, sending the stock to an all-time low.
