Barclays Q2 results: profits popped by 44%

Barclays CEO Jes Staley.
REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

• Barclays Q2 pre-tax profits rise 44%, while income
  climbs 10%.
• The bank had a strong performance at its investment
  bank and also benefitted from lower impairment costs.

LONDON — Barclays reported a strong set of second-quarter results
on Thursday, including solid numbers from its under-fire
investment banking unit.

Here are the top-line numbers from
Barclays results for the three months to June:

• Income: Up 10% to £5.6 billion
• Pre-tax profit: Up 44% to £2 billion
• Costs: Down 3% to £3.3 billion
• Return on equity: 12.3%

The return of volatility this year helped markets income at
Barclays’ investment bank increase by 11%, with a big uptick in
derivatives and equity financing. The results will buoy the
bank’s management which is facing pressure from activist investor
Edward Bramson over the investment banking unit.

Bramson wants to
shut almost all trading activity at Barclays’ investment
bank as part of plans to cut costs and boost returns.
Barclays’ trading income rose 13% in the first half of the year
to £2.5 billion.

The group’s second-quarter performance was helped by a big
decline in conduct and litigation costs in the quarter, down to
£81 million from £715 million a year earlier.

CEO Jes Staley said in the accompanying half-year report: “The
second quarter, where we generated a Group RoTE of 12.3%,
underlines the growing pace of delivery at Barclays. This is a
business which is performing well, having addressed the
challenges of the last decade.”

Jefferies analyst Joseph Dickerson and his team said in a
note: “Q2 results show a much better impairment performance and
solid delivery across business segments. We see consensus
drifting higher despite a mixed cost guide.”

Despite the strong performance, Barclays
shares are trading down 0.3% after just over half an hour of
trade on the London Stock Exchange.