LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays presented a three-year plan on Tuesday to revive its share price, including returning 10 billion pounds (11.69 billion euros) to shareholders, cutting its costs by 2 billion pounds and an investment in its high-yield UK retail bank.
Barclays shares rose 5.4% on the London Stock Exchange at 08:36 GMT after the presentation by CEO CS Venkatakrishnan, who also plans asset sales.
Barclays will reorganize its business divisions, return 10 billion pounds to shareholders between 2024 and 2026 and restructure its payments business, it said.
It is the first time in almost a decade that the British lender has updated its strategy, as the chief executive attempts to improve the group’s results.
With the collapse of Barclays’ share price, whose valuation is one of the lowest among its European peers, some investors are in favor of reducing the lender’s risks by simplifying its investment bank, Reuters reported at the beginning of the month.
Barclays’ activities will be reorganized into five operating divisions, allowing for better publication of results.
The company said it was targeting return on tangible equity, a key performance measure, above 10% in 2024 and 12% in 2026.
Barclays will cut 5,000 jobs in 2023, most of them in back-office functions, Chief Financial Officer Anna Cross told reporters.
In terms of results, Barclays reported annual pre-tax profit at £6.6 billion, down from £7 billion recorded the previous year. Analysts surveyed by the company had expected a profit of 6.7 billion pounds.
Corporate and investment banking revenue also fell, by 4%, to £12 billion in 2023, as client activity fell in both markets and advisory businesses.
(Reporting Lawrence White and Iain Withers, Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Blandine Hénault and Kate Entringer)
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