Citigroup Inc,’s stock
C,
was up by 4% in premarket trading on Friday after its profit excluding multiple one-time items beat analyst estimates. Chief Executive Jane Fraser said the quarter “was very disappointing due to the impact of notable items” but the bank made “substantial progress” executing its strategy to simplify the bank. Citi is laying off 7,000 people as part of its restructuring. Citigroup said its fourth-quarter net loss including all items was $1.8 billion, or $1.16 a share. In the year-ago period, the bank reported net income of $2.5 billion, or $1.16 a share. Excluding $2 in one-time items, Citigroup earned 84 cents a share, well ahead of the FactSet consensus estimate of 11 cents a share. Excluding the impact of divestures, Citi’s revenue rose by 2% with gains in its services, U.S. personal banking and investment banking, while revenue fell for its markets and wealth businesses. Reported revenue was down 3% to $17.4 billion. Direct staff fell by 1,000 to 239,000 as of Dec. 31. Items in the quarter included $1.76 billion for the FDIC special assessment for the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and other banks last year, as well as a reserve build of $1.3 billion tied to transfer risk in Russia and Argentina, as well as a restructuring charge of about $880 million.
