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Barclays’ net profit surged to £1bn in the fourth quarter, as it marked a year since chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan unveiled his three-year plan to revamp the British bank.
Profits beat analyst expectations of £989mn and were up from the same period last year when Barclays posted a net loss of £111mn. Group revenue was up 24 per cent to £7bn, compared with the £6.7bn analysts anticipated.
Barclays last February laid out a plan to secure growth and return £10bn to shareholders by focusing on the UK market and limiting the amount of capital consumed by its investment bank.
The bank’s shares have more than doubled since then as investors have regained confidence in UK and European banks.
“Overall a solid set of results, but little new to get excited about either,” wrote Citibank analyst Andrew Coombs. “This, plus the strong run up in the share price over the past year, may temper any initial reaction.”
This is a developing story