Barclays will hog the spotlight Wednesday as it unveils its first-quarter results.
Analysts at Investec expect the bank to report an adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.1bn or £1.6bn after allowing for the guided £0.5bn restructuring charge.
The company has been undergoing a massive reorganisation under new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Antony Jenkins who announced his strategy at the time of annual results in February.
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He has been trying to rework the bank's image following an LIBOR interest rate rigging scandal last year.
Last week, the bank restated its 2012 financial results saying that changes to accounting rules meant its profits should have been over £500m higher.
Barclays released an updated version of its full-year results that take into account the IFRS 10 and IAS 19 rules which came into effect on January 1st 2013.
"We note that Barclays' restatement document was uncharacteristically silent on Q1 2013 exceptional charges, from which we infer that any 'top up' misselling provisions will be minimal (or zero) this quarter. Welcome news," Investec said in a note last Friday.
The broker said its investment bank Barcap remains key to driving growth. It forecast a £1.3bn contribution from Barcap or 59% of the group's profit before tax.
It also anticipates a 7.0% year-on-year decline in Barcap revenues to £3.2bn. However, the fall will reflect a non-recurrence of a £0.2bn share-related gain realised in 2012 rather than a negative trend.
"Moreover, we anticipate substantially lower Barcap costs, down 14% [year-on-year]," the analyst added.
The bank was issued a 'buy' rating and a target price of 345p by Investec.
The results will come less than a week after the bank's investment banking boss Rich Ricci announced his retirement. His departure ended months of speculation that he would be ousted by Jenkins as part of a clampdown on executive pay.
"Confirmation that Rich Ricci, CEO Barcap is to retire on June 30th is hardly surprising, internally replaced by Eric Bommensath/Tom King," Investec said.
"Investors should welcome the news - ongoing revenue delivery, but with lower costs!"
Wednesday April 24th
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Close Brothers Group
INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Avingtrans,Carr's Milling Industries, Mcbride
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Assura Group Ltd.
QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
City of London Inv Trust
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
Durable Goods Orders (US) (13:30)
IFO Business Climate (GER) (09:00)
IFO Current Assessment (GER) (09:00)
IFO Expectations (GER) (09:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
Q3
Kofax
FINALS
Development Securities, Home Retail Group
IMSS
Meggitt, Next, Weir Group
SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Admiral Group, ITV
AGMS
Aga Rangemaster Group, Alkane Energy, Core VCT, DP Poland, European Real Estate Inv Trust Ltd. Part Pref, GlaxoSmithKline, JPMorgan American Inv Trust, Kerry Group 'A' Shares, Ladbrokes, Lancashire Holdings, Meggitt, Novae Group, Rapid Realisations Fund Ltd., Spirent Communications, Stanley Gibbons Group, Weir Group
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
PMI Manufacturing (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
IDOX
FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Aggreko, Balfour Beatty, Brady, Central Asia Metals, Centrica,Churchill China, Drax Group, DRS Data & Research Services, Fiberweb, Greggs, H.R. Owen, Impax Environmental Markets, Intu Properties, Invesco Perpetual UK Small Companies Inv Trust, Kazakhmys, Kentz Corporation Ltd., Kingspan Group, Legal & General Group, Lookers, M. P. Evans Group, Man Group, Microgen, National Express Group, North American Income Trust (The), North Midland Construction Octopus Second AIM VCT, Old Mutual, Playtech Ltd., Portmeirion Group, Rathbone Brothers, Rexam, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Smart Metering Systems, Somero Enterprises Inc.(Reg S), StatPro Group, Tesco, Tullett Prebon, UBM, W H Ireland Group, Xchanging, Zotefoams
RD
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Revealed: the countries with the most generous pensionsThe UK state pension is often criticised for failing to deliver a comfortable retirement. So, how does our pension system compare to other countries - which countries are most generous, and at what age can you claim a state pension?
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Private school fees soar and VAT threat looms – what does it mean for you?Rising private school fees could see more than one in five parents pull their children out of their current school. Before you remortgage, move house or look to grandparents for help, here’s what you need to know.
