Barclays (BARC.L) posted a forecast-beating rise in profits in the third quarter, with income from its investment bank leading growth.
The bank reported a 23% increase in attributable profits, which is owed to shareholders, to nearly £1.6bn. This beat consensus forecasts of nearly £1.3bn, according to figures provided by the bank.
Meanwhile, profits before tax rose 18% year-on-year in the third quarter to £2.2bn ($2.8bn), also coming in ahead of estimates of £1.97bn.
The company reported a 14% decline in credit impairment charges to £374m, compared to the same period last year.
Barclays said it had delivered a further £300m in cost savings in the quarter, resulting in year-to-date savings of £700m, putting it on track to deliver around £1bn in efficiencies for the year. Barclays announced a structural overhaul of its business back in February, with the aim of cutting costs by £2bn.
C S Venkatakrishnan, group CEO of Barclays, said: “We continue to be focused on disciplined execution of our three year plan and are encouraged with progress to date. Whilst there is more work to do, the Group is on track to achieve its target of greater than 12% RoTE in 2026.”
Barclays shares climbed more than 4% on Thursday morning, with the stock trading at around nine-year highs.