J.P. Morgan third-quarter profits nearly triple
NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - No. 3 U.S. bank J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc. (NYSE:JPM - news) said on Monday its third-quarter profits almost tripled to $442 million, snapping back from last year's financial turmoil, though its results fell short of second quarter levels.
The commercial and investment bank also said its board approved the repurchase of up to $3 billion of its common stock and announced a plan to boost its quarterly stock dividend to $1.00 from $0.99 a share when it meets in December.
J.P. Morgan earned $2.22 a share in the third quarter, up from $0.75 a share, or $156 million, in the year-ago quarter but below the $504 million or $2.52 a share earned in the second quarter this year. Wall Street expected the bank to earn $2.15 a share in the quarter, according to First Call/Thomson Financial, which tracks analysts' estimates.
The bank's operating revenues rose 59 percent from last year's third quarter to $1.985 billion, excluding a $56 million gain in the year-ago quarter from the sale of its Australian investment management business.
Unprecedented turbulence in global markets last year bloodied profits at most U.S. banks, making the third quarter of 1999 look very strong by comparison. But most banks are not expected to earn as much as they did in the second quarter this year, when trading profits surged.
J.P. Morgan's global finance revenues more than doubled to $1.385 billion from the year-ago but fell short of the $1.815 billion in revenues recorded in the second quarter. Investment banking revenues rose 30 percent from last year to $310 million, but were less than second-quarter investment banking revenues of $320 million, the bank said.
Equities revenues, which include stock underwriting, market making, stock derivitives and ADR businesses, were $289 million in the third quarter, up $148 million from the third quarter last year, as cash and equity derivatives results improved and equity underwriting revenues increased. But results did not surpass the $427 million in equities revenues J.P. Morgan posted in the second quarter this year. |
