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Banking
giant Citigroup, which has been on the acquisitions trail,
has reported a 26 per cent decline in quarterly net profits
to $5.13 billion (Rs22,818 crore). Citigroup attributed
the decline to the costs at its Japanese arm for the lower
comparative earnings in the three months to the end of
December.
With
the announcement of the fourth-quarter figures, Citigroup''s
annual profits for 2006 were $23.8 billion — 12 per
cent lower than in 2005 on total revenues of a record
$89.6 billion.
Results
include previously disclosed charges of $415 million after-tax
in the group''s Japanese consumer finance to increase reserves
and reposition the business. Return on common equity was
17.2 per cent.
For the full year 2006, net income was $21.54 billion,
or $4.31 per share, and return on common equity was 18.8
per cent.
According
to Citigroup CEO Charles Prince, the company had seen
"positive trends" in its core US market, which
partly off-set regulatory changes in Japan where Citigroup
reduced its operations.
A
media release quotes Prince as saying that the banking
group would "continue to expand our business through
a balance of organic investment and targeted acquisitions".
In
April 2006, US regulators lifted a one-year ban on the
group from pursuing large scale takeovers, which was put
in place after it was told to improve its business practices.
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