NEW YORK -- Citigroup Inc. said Thursday that its first-quarter net income rose 21 percent as the company continued to slim down its operations and control expenses.
Goldman Sachs, also releasing first-quarter earnings Thursday, said its net income jumped as its investment-banking unit logged its best quarter since the financial crisis.
Citigroup earned $4.8 billion, or $1.51 a share, in the first three months of the year. That compared with $3.9 billion, or $1.23 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was $19.74 billion, down slightly from $20.21 billion a year earlier.
The bank was able to cut its expenses and legal costs across the firm in the quarter, which more than offset the decline in revenue. Citi's expenses were $10.9 billion in the quarter, down from $12.2 billion a year earlier. Legal expenses were $387 million, down from $945 million.
"It was a refreshing quarter for Citigroup to have, finally, some of those large legal and repositioning charges slow down," said Shannon Stemm, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis. "The focus can move more to some of the underlying business results."
Citi's results beat Wall Street estimates, with analysts polled by FactSet forecasting earnings per share of $1.40.
Citi got a boost from its consumer-banking division. Net income in Citi's North America banking business was $1.14 billion, up 12 percent from a year ago. Expenses in that division were down 6 percent compared with a year earlier.
However, Citi did not do as well as other banks in trading this quarter. Markets revenue was down 6 percent from a year ago, with bond and currency trading revenue down 11 percent. Citi reported a "modest loss" when the Swiss franc jumped earlier this year. Other currencies have also been volatile. The Swiss franc had its biggest one-day move in history in January after the Swiss National Bank announced it would allow the franc to appreciate against the euro.
Citi has been selling off businesses and restructuring itself for several years now, after the bank came close to collapse in the financial crisis and required government assistance to stay afloat. The bank has righted itself under Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat, selling off struggling assets and businesses.
The bank passed the Federal Reserve's "stress tests" last month, which allowed Citi to buy back its own shares from the open market and raise its dividend for the first time since the financial crisis. Even Citi Holdings, the storehouse of assets that Citi wants to dispose of, turned a profit in the quarter.
As Citi continues to slim down, so does its workforce. The bank employed 239,000 people in the first quarter compared with 248,000 staff members a year ago. At the peak of the housing bubble in 2007, Citi had roughly 375,000 workers.
Citigroup shares rose 81 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close Thursday at $54.02.
Goldman Sachs reported earnings of $2.75 billion, or $5.94 a share, in the first three months of the year. That compares with $1.95 billion, or $4.02, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose to $10.6 billion from $9.3 billion a year earlier.
Goldman is benefiting from an upswing in company deals in the U.S. driven by higher business confidence and low interest rates. Big moves in the bond and currency markets in the first quarter also added to earnings at the bank as its trading business increased.
"In short, nothing not to like about these results," Chris Kotowski, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., wrote in a note to clients. "Equity trading shines in all-around great quarter."
The results beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had forecast per-share of $4.26 and total revenue of $9.4 billion.
Goldman said revenue from investment banking was the highest it's been since 2007.
The biggest gain was at its financial advisory business, which advises companies on mergers, acquisitions and other deals. Revenue at the unit jumped 41 percent to $961 million in the first quarter. The big gain was somewhat offset by declines in debt and equity underwriting.
Goldman also reported a big increase in revenue at its bond and currency trading unit, as volatility in those markets picked up.
The dollar has gained 9 percent against the euro in the first quarter, a significant move.
As asset prices become more volatile, traders place more bets to try to take advantage of swings in the market. As trading volumes rise, banks and brokers earn more in commissions.
Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell 89 cents, or 0.4 percent, to close Thursday at $200.21.
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Sweet and Steve Rothwell of The Associated Press and by Michael J. Moore and Dakin Campbell of Bloomberg News.
Business on 04/17/2015