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Text size [+][-]  Saturday November 7 2009GLOBAL EDITION

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17 Jun 2008 18:35

The gulf of Goldman

By Antony Currie

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Goldman Sachs reported second-quarter earnings of $2.09bn. At $4.58 a share, results beat consensus estimates by 34%.

Revenue in its fixed income, currencies and commodities unit fell 24% from the first quarter to just under $2.4bn, in part due to credit losses of around $775m on leveraged loans – including a $500m hit on hedges. Mortgages, interest-rate products, commodities and currencies all performed well.

Equities trading and commission revenue fell 1% to just under $2.5bn, while equity underwriting revenue almost quadrupled to $616m. Financial advisory revenue rose 21% to $800m, asset management revenue fell 12% and securities services jumped 36%.

Return on common equity was 20.4%

 
The Wall Street firm has a simple model: run a broad set of businesses, and avoid losses as much as possible. Yet peers have a hard time following suit. After yet another decent quarter, Goldman’s allure looks even more appealing both to shareholders and clients.

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