Citigroup closed lower after despite posting a quarterly profit up 7%, with lower costs and strong demand for consumer loans offsetting weakness in its trading activity. The net profit of the US bank came out at 4.80 billion dollars, or 1.95 dollars per share in the second quarter, against 4.50 billion dollars (1.63 dollars per share) a year earlier. This result includes an exceptional gain of 12 cents per share related to Citigroup’s investment in the electronic platform TradeWeb. Over the period, net banking income increased by 2% to 18.76 billion dollars, while expenses fell by 2%. Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.80 per share for net revenue of $18.50 billion.
In detail, the revenues of the group’s retail banking rose by 3%, while those of the division dedicated to institutional clients remained stable. In particular, the investment bank’s revenues fell by 10%, while the market-rate activities saw their GNP fall by 4%. Citigroup has also managed to reduce costs by 2% over one year.
Tiffany is under pressure due to Citigroup that has downgraded the stock from “buy” to “neutral”. The New York jeweler had published quarterly accounts marked by sales below expectations for the holiday season. For the quarter ended January 2019, the net profit stood at $205 million or $1.67 per share, against $62 million and 50 cents per share a year before.
Teva Pharmaceutical plunges 7.7%. Morgan Stanley has reduced its recommendation from Equal-Weight to Underweight, with an adjusted target price of $16 to $6, due to a risk associated with the historical exposure of the company. The company had already reported lower-than-expected sales in the first quarter, which stood at $4.3 billion, against the $4.38 billion expected, due to a stronger than expected sales decline for its multiple sclerosis, ‘Copaxone’, and the weakness of its generics business in the United States.