Barclays: shares slide despite earnings beat
(CercleFinance.com) - Barclays reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, lifted by its corporate and investment banking unit, but near term pressure on net interest margin seemed to spook investors, sending the shares lower.
Barclays' pre-tax profit fell to 693 million pounds in the fourth quarter, little over half the results of nearly 1.3 billion pounds in the same period a year ago, although over twice the consensus of 285 million pounds.
Even so, the strong results were overshadowed by a 7% rise in the bank's operating expenses, at 3.8 billion pounds in the last quarter, up 11% sequentially.
Analysts also pointed out that the guidance in terms of net interest margin (NIM) was "disappointing" relative to consensus after it already fell by 48 basis points to 2.94% in 2020.
A key indicator of a bank's profitability, the net interest margin measures the difference between what a bank pays for borrowings and deposits, and what it earns from loans and investments.
Barclays shares were down 3% in mid-morning trading, one of the worst-performing stocks on London's FTSE 100 index today.
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Barclays' pre-tax profit fell to 693 million pounds in the fourth quarter, little over half the results of nearly 1.3 billion pounds in the same period a year ago, although over twice the consensus of 285 million pounds.
Even so, the strong results were overshadowed by a 7% rise in the bank's operating expenses, at 3.8 billion pounds in the last quarter, up 11% sequentially.
Analysts also pointed out that the guidance in terms of net interest margin (NIM) was "disappointing" relative to consensus after it already fell by 48 basis points to 2.94% in 2020.
A key indicator of a bank's profitability, the net interest margin measures the difference between what a bank pays for borrowings and deposits, and what it earns from loans and investments.
Barclays shares were down 3% in mid-morning trading, one of the worst-performing stocks on London's FTSE 100 index today.
Copyright (c) 2021 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.