Citi profits jump 24 per cent
US investment bank Citigroup has posted a 24 per cent jump in its earnings in the past quarter compared with the same period in 2010 despite revenues falling.
Citi, the second US investment banking giant to report its second quarter figures after JP Morgan yesterday, said revenues fell seven per cent year on year to $20.6bn, while net earnings increased to $3.3bn (£2bn).
Per share, earnings were $1.09, compared to $0.90 in the second quarter of 2010.
“We produced growth in both loans and deposits in Citicorp, reduced assets in Citi Holdings, continued to invest in our core businesses and improved our financial strength.
“Although the near-term macroeconomic outlook is uneven, Citi is consistently profitable,” said Citi chief executive Vikram Pandit.
The results beat analysts’ average forecasts for $0.96 per share – but its total earnings was below the $5.4bn figure posted by JP Morgan.
“They’re fixing a lot of their problems, but they’re not out of the woods yet,” said Matt McCormick, portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel.
It is the sixth consecutive quarterly profit for Citigroup, which needed $45bn in US government bailouts to survive the financial crisis.
Since December, when the US government sold off the last of its common share stake in the bank, Pandit has been trying to show investors that Citigroup can move beyond recovery to growth.