Goldman quarterly profit falls for first time in 3 years

Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has said its earnings in the fiscal second quarter declined 27 percent, the first drop in quarterly profit in three years, the New York Times reported Friday.

According to the report, Goldman's earnings were 865 million dollars, or 1.71 dollars a share, compared with 1.19 billion dollars or 2.31 dollars a share in the year-earlier period.

While several of Goldman's units reported lower earnings, its trading business was hit the hardest, with revenue down 22 percent from the year-earlier period to 2.8 billion dollars.

Fixed-income trading, which makes up 54 percent of the firm's all trading and principal investment revenue, declined 20 percent, while equity trading rose 6 percent.

Investment banking, only 17 percent of total revenue, fell 14 percent to 815 million dollars.

There were still bright spots in Goldman's results, said the report. Asset management revenue rose 27 percent to 1.2 billion dollars from 931 million dollars, while revenue in securities services, whose clients include hedge funds, rose 48 percent to 489 million dollars.

The report said that Goldman's results are the latest in what has been a mixed season for investment banks. J.P.Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley warned that second-quarter earnings would be disappointing, while Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns reported fairly strong quarters.

Source: Xinhua