Morgan Stanley closed the first quarter of 2014 with net income of $1,51 billion, up 54% year over year. Earnings per share came in at $0,74, well above the $0,61 expected by analysts. Revenues were also better than forecasts, equal to 8,9 billion dollars (+10%), against the 8,53 billion of the consensus.
The American banking giant also announced that it had doubled its dividends to 10 cents per share and authorized the buyback of its shares up to one billion dollars.
"We continue to execute on our multi-year strategy to deliver consistent returns to our shareholders through revenue growth and strong expense control discipline," said Chief Executive Officer James Gorman.
Wealth Management Division revenue increased 4,4% to $3,62 billion (down 2,9% from the prior quarter). The division's pre-tax profit margins, a figure highly regarded in terms of efficiency, grew to 19% in the first quarter, up from 17% a year ago and unchanged from the prior three months. Gorman has raised the goal to 22-25% by the end of the year.
Fixed-income businesses generated revenue up to $1,7 billion, up 11% from last year's $1,5 billion. In particular, "the solid performance of commodities and the good results of products linked to credit and securitization" were the driving force, reads the bank's note.
