Goldman reports strong profits

With net earnings of US$3.19bn for the third quarter of the year, Goldman has powered past profits of US$845m reported in the same quarter a year previous.

Diluted earnings per common share for the third quarter were US$5.25, Goldman said, compared to the US$1.81 reported in the same quarter a year previous and the US$4.93 reported in the last quarter.

Earnings also surpassed the expectations of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, who had expected diluted earnings per common share of US$4.18.

Net revenues at the group totalled US$12.37bn.

Goldman’s Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein said that although the world continued to face “serious economic challenges”, the company is seeing “improving conditions and evidence of stabilisation, even growth, across a number of sectors”.

Record bonuses on the cards

Goldman’s robust profits announced today, coupled with its strong second-quarter results, mean its employees may well be in line for record bonus payments this year.

Despite the company having paid back the US$10bn in tax-payer money it had received under the US Government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Capital Purchase Program, record bonus payments are likely to prove contentious in a year characterised by economic turmoil and rising unemployment.

Goldman said today that compensation and benefits expenses to employees for the quarter totalled US$5.35bn. These, the company said, were higher than that paid out in the third quarter of 2008 due to higher net revenues.

In announcing a robust set of results today, Goldman has followed in the footsteps of fellow US banking giant JP Morgan Chase, which also surpassed analysts’ expectation with its announcement of US$3.6bn in profits for the third quarter yesterday.

Article courtesy of businessandleadership.com

Photo: Goldman Sachs has net earnings of US$3.19bn for the third quarter of the year.

^{Photo – Nigel R Barklie/Rex Features}