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LONDON:

Troubled British bank Barclays on Friday reported a first-half net loss after it offloaded part of its African business.

Barclays posted a loss after tax of £1.21 billion ($1.58 billion, 1.35 billion euros) in the six months to the end of June, while in the first half of 2016 it earned a net profit of £1.11 billion.

A loss after tax linked to the discontinued part of its African banking unit came in at nearly £2.2 billion, Barclays added in a statement.

Barclays has reduced its stake in its African operations as part of a global strategic re-think unveiled last year.

It recently sold 33.7 percent of Barclays Africa for £2.22 billion as the bank focuses attention on its two core markets of Britain and the United States.

Barclays though still wishes to keep its remaining stake of about 15 percent in the African division.

In the first-half, Barclays was hit also by setting aside a further £700 million to compensate customers mis-sold a controversial insurance product that has blighted the entire UK banking sector and cost it tens of billions of pounds. (AFP)

ZURICH:

Swiss banking giant UBS Friday posted higher profits for the second quarter as improved investor confidence led to growth in its wealth management units.

Net profit for the period was up 14 percent at 1.17 billion Swiss francs (1.03 billion euros, $1.21 billion).

The result was better than expected by analysts interviewed by Swiss agency AWP who predicted profits of 938 million Swiss francs.

Operating income came in as forecast at 7.2 billion.

The group said it is on track to reach its cost-savings target of 2.1 billion Swiss francs by the end of 2017.

“Considering market conditions, the second quarter results were very good and contributed to a strong first half of the year,” said chief executive Sergio Ermotti.

“Our global wealth management business in particular delivered an excellent performance. The results once again demonstrate the value of our diversified business model, allowing us to grow profitably and sustainably over the cycle and in a variety of market conditions.” (AFP)

PARIS:

Robust traffic and filling more seats on its planes helped Air FranceKLM switch into profit in the first half of this year, the airline said Friday, a day after it announced alliances to strengthen its position in North America and Asia.

A capital increase announced Thursday will bring the US airline Delta and China Eastern into its shareholders. Meanwhile Air France-KLM took a minority stake in Britain’s Virgin Atlantic, joining Delta.

Chief executive Jean-Marc Janaillac said he was “very pleased with the strengthening of our network of alliances”.

“Our North-Atlantic alliance with Delta and the Delta and Virgin Atlantic joint venture, and the reinforcement of our partnership with China Eastern, position Air France-KLM as the European pillar of the leading global airline network,” he said.

A 6.5 percent increase in passengers helped AirFrance-KLM lift earnings to a net profit of 151 million euros ($177 million), after having turned in a loss in the first half of last year. (AFP)

PARIS:

France’s state-owned energy company EDF saw its profit slip in the first half of the year as two of its nuclear reactors were taken offline due to safety concerns.

Net profit slid 3.7 percent compared to the first half of last year to 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), while operating profit tumbled 20.6 percent to 7.0 billion euros.

Production of electricity from its nuclear reactors fell 3.9 percent, with two reactors shut down due to concerns about equipment supplied by a contractor.

EDF operates 58 reactors and nuclear is the main source of electricity generation in France.

The company said negative market conditions and obligations to sell nuclear-generated electricity to competitors at a regulated price also hurt its earnings.

Meanwhile hydro power fell by 16.5 percent due to drought.

“In an unfavourable market context and in line with its forecasts, the Group is continuing to implement its performance plan and maintains its annual objectives,” EDF’s chief executive JeanBernard Levy said in a statement. (AFP)

BERLIN:

Credit Suisse says its secondquarter earnings were up 78 percent as its wealth management business reports a strong inflow of new assets.

The Swiss bank said Friday that net profit for the April-June period was up to 303 million francs ($316 million) from 170 million francs a year earlier. Operating expenses were lower and the company said it’s on track to meet its full-year cost target.

Credit Suisse said its wealth management division saw a 12 percent increase in net new assets over the year’s first half to 22.8 billion, the strongest showing in six years.

For the first half, the bank reported net earnings of 899 million francs. That compares with a net loss of 132 million francs in the first six months of last year. (AP)

LONDON:

British telecoms and television broadcasting firm BT Group on Friday posted a 42-percent slump in profits during its first quarter, rocked by fresh fallout from an Italian accounting scandal.

The news sent BT shares sliding four percent, with the company heading the fallers’ board in morning deals on London’s FTSE 100 index.

Pre-tax profits tumbled to £418 million ($550 million, 470 million euros) in the three months to the end of June, BT said in a results statement.

Revenues rose one percent from the same period last year to £5.84 billion.

BT took a new £225-million charge to settle a warranty claim with two key investors — Germany’s Deutsche Telekom and France’s Orange — arising from the Italy scandal.

The British company purchased mobile operator EE from Deutsche Telekom and Orange last year, in a £12.5-billion deal under which the pair also became BT shareholders.

BT had first revealed in October that an independent review had uncovered improper accounting practices and transactions at its troubled Italian division. (AFP)