Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - Barclays PLC on Thursday reported lower third-quarter adjusted pretax profit as total income net of insurance claims fell back in the quarter.
Net profit amounted to GBP417 million in the three months to September 30, compared with GBP379 million the corresponding quarter the prior year. A third interim dividend of one pence will be paid on December 11.
Third-quarter adjusted pretax profit, a closely watched measure which strips out the effects of own credit, provisions for fines and compensation due to customers as well as other gains and losses, fell to GBP1.43 billion from GBP1.59 billion a year before. The adjusted figure missed company-compiled consensus forecasts of GBP1.64 billion.
The FTSE 100 bank is undergoing a heavy period of surgery. British retail banker Antony Jenkins was fired in July after the board lost faith in him as the right chief executive to take the bank forward, and US investment banker Jes Staley was named his successor on Wednesday. The rundown of non-core assets continues, as Barclays looks to improve shareholder returns.
Near the top of its list of concerns is the investment banking arm, now being shrunk due to low returns and a capital-hungry business model. Its glory days of being a European rival to Wall Street's finest are in the past. In the words of Staley on Wednesday, Barclays must now "complete the necessary transformation and repositioning of the investment bank to a less capital intensive model".
The investment banking arm is one of four main operating divisions at the group, sitting alongside payments business Barclaycard, personal and corporate banking operations, and an African banking business.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
