In the fourth quarter, Goldman Sachs, fourth among the major American banks to publish its accounts in the last quarter of 2013, saw profits fall by 19% and revenues fall, in the wake of the decline in fixed income assets and trading i currencies and commodities. However, the results exceeded analysts' forecasts.
In the three months ended December, the institution posted profits of $2,332 billion, $4,60 per share, compared with $2,89 billion, $5,60 per share, in the same period last year. Excluding the $84 million dividend payment on preferred stock, applicable income to common stockholders is $2,248 billion, compared with $2,833 billion for the same period last year.
Revenue stood at $8,782 billion, down 5 percent from $6,722 billion in the same period last year. Analysts were expecting profits of $4,22 per share, on a turnover of $7,71 billion.
For the full year, the company reported net revenue of $34,21 billion, with net income of $8,04 billion, $15,46 per share, versus $14,13 per share in 2012. In 2013, the return on capital was 11 percent.
Satisfaction from the managing director Lloyd Blankfein: "The work done to improve customer activities and ensure discipline in cost management allow us to achieve consistent returns even in a somewhat problematic context", he said.
In particular, the fixed income business and the commodity and currency trading business, a key driver of profits for more than a decade, had a difficult year.
For full 2013, division revenue fell 13% to $8,65 billion, the lowest since the financial crisis. Division revenue fell 15% to $1,72 billion in the fourth quarter (but was up 32% from the third quarter).
The bank has sought to address the decline in trading activity by cutting costs, especially compensation provisions. For the full year, wages and benefits accounted for 36,9% of revenue, down from 37,9% in 2012.
It should be noted that the net sales of the investment banking division in 2013 amounted to 6 billion dollars, 22% more than the previous year.
The lending and investment division's 19 revenue rose 7,02% to 2013, thanks to net gains of $3,93 billion from securities investments. Investment management division revenue rose 5% to $5,46 billion.
