Citigroup beats expectations; posts $1.6 bn profit in Q1

Global financial services major Citigroup Inc, which was on brink of collapse till recently, has made a dramatic turnaround by recording a profit of $1.6 billion for the first three months of this year.

Global financial services major Citigroup Inc, which was on brink of collapse till recently, has made a dramatic turnaround by recording a profit of $ 1.6 billion for the first three months of this year.

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Citigroup, after posting a string of losses for the previous five consecutive quarters, follows conglomerates Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, which have surprised the street with better earnings than, estimated in the first quarter of this year.

Citigroup posted $ 1.6 billion profit against a net loss of $ 5.1 billion in corresponding quarter a year ago. Its total revenues also almost doubled at $ 24.8 billion, from that in the corresponding period last year.

Besides Citigroup, which has got three bailout packages from the US government since the beginning of economic crisis, search engine major Google also today announced more than 8 per cent growth in profit. Better than street expected earnings by big corporation like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining a moderate 0.35 per cent in early trade.

These are also likely to inject lease of fresh life into the recession-hit US economy. Good earnings are also expected to lift the banking industry's confidence, which was badly battered after a series of collapses of financial institutions in the world's biggest economy.