Barclays set to leave UK if it’s broken-up August 5, 2010 BARCLAYS mounted a staunch defence of “big banking” yesterday as its first-half performance failed to impress analysts, who described the hefty profit boost as “low quality”. Chief executive John Varley used his results speech to warn the government against breaking up large institutions into separate investment and retail banks. Varley argued FTSE 100 companies needed [...]
BarCap makes lion’s share of profit despite revenue drop August 5, 2010 PROFIT at Barclays Capital made up 87 per cent of the banking group’s overall earnings, though much of its £3.4bn profit was due to unexpected one-off items and credit changes. While pre-tax profit for the half had almost trebled compared to the first half of 2009, this includes a £851m gain on its own credit. [...]
Barclays August 5, 2010 WHAT a let-down. Barclays’ first-half numbers were like a huge picnic hamper that turns out to hold a couple of stale scotch eggs. Investors quickly saw through the headline pre-tax profit of £3.9bn, which was 13 per cent ahead of consensus. The number was flattered by a strong decline in writedowns to £3bn, a large [...]
Profits surge at Schroders as assets rise August 5, 2010 UK FUND manager Schroders beat analysts’ forecasts for first-half earnings yesterday, as new asset management products helped it brave weakening markets in the second quarter. The company reported a sharp rise in pre-tax profit to £188.2m over the period, comfortably beating consensus analyst forecasts for between £150m and £168m. Falling equity markets had slowed new [...]
Zurich Financial suffers as weather disasters weigh August 5, 2010 SWISS insurer Zurich Financial Services reported a 51 per cent drop in second-quarter net profits to $707m (£445m) yesterday as earnings were hit by payouts for weather-related losses and the earthquake in Chile. This compares with a profit of $1.43bn during the same period last year by the firm led by Martin Senn. The Zurich-based [...]
Generali bullish for full-year as sales boosted August 5, 2010 ASSICURAZIONI Generali, Europe’s third-largest insurer, posted a 73 per cent rise in net profit yesterday, boosted by life insurance, and forecast a rise in full-year results. Italy’s largest insurer’s net profit was €873m (£723.5m), in line with consensus analyst forecasts of €869m. “A growth in operating margins and in net results, compared with 2009, is [...]
Poor underwriting hits Swiss Re’s second quarter August 5, 2010 Swiss RE, the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, yesterday revealed a poor underwriting performance in the second quarter, sending its shares lower even though investment gains helped lift profits beyond expectations. The company’s property and casualty reinsurance combined ratio – a measure of underwriting profitability – missed forecasts at 102 per cent. A number below 100 per [...]
Aviva sees its profit leap as slashes costs August 5, 2010 AVIVA increased its market capitalisation by almost three quarters of a billion pounds yesterday, after its London-listed shares soared on better-than-expected half-year profits. Aviva shares, which have underperformed the sector over the course of the year so far, added 7.18 per cent over the day to close at 394.3p, valuing the group at £11.06bn. The [...]
RSA shares jump after dividend is hiked August 5, 2010 RSA INSURANCE Group yesterday raised its mid-year dividend, predicting further sales growth in the coming months and shrugging off flat first half profit dented by the cost of Chile’s earthquake and bad weather in Europe. “In terms of top line, we expect the UK to remain in positive territory for the remainder of 2010; international [...]
Push to energy lifts Lancashire August 5, 2010 Lloyd’s of London insurer Lancashire Holdings yesterday beat forecasts with its first-half pre-tax profit as it escaped a big hit from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and Chile’s earthquake, while rates for energy-sector insurance rose. Lancashire reported a first-half pre-tax profit of $94.6m (£59.6m), compared with $148.2m in the same period last year after [...]
