Barclays released its third-quarter results on Tuesday, along with updates to its 2023 guidance. Here are the key details:
Pre-tax Profit
The U.K. bank’s pre-tax profit for the three months ending September 30 was £1.885 billion ($2.31 billion). This surpassed the consensus estimate of £1.77 billion based on 10 analysts’ forecasts, but was slightly lower than the £1.97 billion reported in the same quarter last year.
Total Income
During the quarter, Barclays generated a total income of £6.26 billion, which fell slightly short of the expected £6.29 billion based on consensus. However, this still represented growth compared to the £5.95 billion posted in the same period in 2022.
Key Highlights
CIB Income
Income from Barclays’ Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) division within its international segment reached £3.08 billion. While this figure missed the consensus estimate of £3.13 billion, it surpassed last year’s performance of £2.82 billion.
U.K. Net Interest Margin
Barclays UK reported a net interest margin of 3.04%, slightly lower than the margin of 3.22% in the previous quarter. The bank revised its 2023 guidance for this metric, now expecting it to range between 3.05% and 3.10% as opposed to the previous target of no more than 3.20%. The bank aims for it to settle around 3.15%.
Impairments
The bank incurred credit impairment charges of £433 million during the quarter, which was lower than the consensus prediction of £570 million for potential bad loans.
Outlook
Barclays anticipates potentially booking one-off material costs in the fourth quarter as part of its efforts to cut structural costs, with the aim of driving future returns. The bank plans to provide an update on cost efficiencies, disciplined capital allocation, and revised financial targets in February 2023 along with its full-year results.
