LONDON (Alliance News) - Barclays PLC shares are higher Monday despite the bank confirming that its 2013 pretax profit excluding provisions will drop by over GBP2 billion and as it launched a probe into allegations that details of tens of thousands of its account holders have been stolen and sold on.
The bank put out its 2013 pretax profit figures a day ahead of its full earnings release after the Financial Times put out an earnings forecast that was close enough to the actual figures to force the bank to update the market as required under strict stock market rules.
It said it will report an adjusted pretax profit of GBP5.2 billion for 2013, or GBP2.9 billion including provisions including the impact of its own credit, gains on debt buybacks, and gains and losses on acquisitions and disposals. It had reported an adjusted profit of GBP7.60 billion in 2012, while its pretax profit including provisions was GBP797 million. The adjusted figure is watched closely by the markets as it gives a better picture of the bank's operating performance.
The company had Friday provided a consensus forecast of GBP5.41 billion for its adjusted pretax profit, suggesting that the actual figure was below forecasts. However, Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood called the consensus estimate a "nonsense," saying that it has not been adjusted to take into account an additional GBP330 million charge Barclays announced last month to cover the costs of litigation and financial penalties at its investment bank.
Barclays shares were Monday quoted at 275.05 pence, up 3.35 pence, or 1.2%.
A Barclays spokesperson told Alliance News that it is "possible" that consensus figures included some forecasts that hadn't been adjusted to include the GBP330 million charge, but declined to comment on individual analyst forecasts.
The full results, due at 0700 GMT Tuesday, are expected to include details on Barclays' plan to further improve its leverage position as it strives to meet the June deadline for the 3.0% leverage ratio target set by regulators last year. Chief Executive Antony Jenkins will also update the progress of Transform, a package of measures designed to increase the bank's return on equity above its cost of equity, to change its culture, and cut costs, amongst other commitments.
The update came after a difficult weekend for Barclays, with the Mail on Sunday reporting that up to 27,000 files containing sensitive information and data relating to the bank's customers had been stolen and sold. The customer files are said to include health and financial information as well as passport and national insurance numbers and were reportedly sold to rogue traders.
Barclays has launched an investigation in response to the report.
"It looks as though this was a criminal act," a spokesperson said. "We are cooperating with the authorities in order to find the person responsible."
The Mail on Sunday said it learned of the security breach when an anonymous whistleblower approached the tabloid with a USB stick containing the details of 2,000 customers.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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