Barclays profit dips in the second quarter, beats estimates

LONDON — Barclays on Thursday reported second-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders of £1.2 billion ($1.54 billion), slightly lower than a year ago, as the lender's net interest income in its core U.K. units fell.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected attributable net profit of £1.03 billion for the period, according to LSEG data, in a decline from the £1.3 billion logged in the second quarter of 2023.

Shares were 2% higher at 8:09 a.m. London time.

Barclays posted revenue of £6.3 billion for the latest quarter, above a forecast of £6.25 billion. It also announced a share buyback program of up to £750 million.

Net interest income at Barclays' consumer bank dropped 4% year-on-year to £3.15 billion across the January-June period, as its net interest margin declined from 3.2% to 3.15%. Income at the Barclays corporate bank fell 6%, as lower liquidity pool income offset the higher interest rate environment.

Performance was stronger at its investment bank, where income jumped 10% to £3.02 billion in the second quarter.

Max Georgiou, analyst at research firm Third Bridge, said that the Barclays investment banking revenue had outperformed expectations, providing a positive for the bank's mid-term targets.

"To continue executing this strategy we expect to see a continued focus on regrowing share in the U.S. market," Georgiou said.

On Thursday, Barclays also raised its full-year net interest income target for the group — excluding the head office and investment bank divisions — to circa £11 billion, from £10.7 billion previously.

Other highlights from the results included:

The British lender this year kicked off a major restructure aiming to improve efficiencies and boost profits, driving its share price 52% higher in the year