Goldman third-quarter profit shows excellent results

Photo: Goldman third-quarter profit shows excellent results

Wall Street projections turned false - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Thursday reported third-quarter results which were ahead of expectations. The world's largest investment bank realized gains from takeover advice and the sale of its holdings in an energy company.

Quarterly profit for the period ending Aug. 31 rose to $2.85 billion (EUR2.04 billion), or $6.13 per share, compared to $1.55 billion, or $3.26 per share, a year earlier. Revenue soared 63 percent to $12.33 billion (EUR8.82 billion) from $10.18 billion last year.

Results topped Wall Street projections for a profit of $4.35 per share on $9.57 billion (EUR6.85 billion) in revenue, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Goldman said investment banking produced record quarterly revenue of $2.15 billion (EUR1.54 billion) during the quarter, powered by its business in advising on takeovers. Meanwhile, stock trading also racked up a record $3.13 billion (EUR2.24 billion) of revenue during the period.

The investment bank also benefited from the nearly $1 billion (EUR720 million) sale of its interest in Horizon Wind Energy LLC.

"Given the difficult environment of the third quarter, many of our businesses were challenged," said Lloyd C. Blankfein, chairman and chief executive officer. "But overall, the quality of our franchise produced strong results as clients continue to look to us for advice and execution."