Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) unveiled a £500 million share buyback and upgraded its profitability guidance for this year, following a third-quarter performance that was better than expected.
The bank said the buyback was part of a move to quarterly distributions, with chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan also saying the board had decided to bring forward a portion of full-year distribution plans after "robustly and consistently generating capital over the past nine quarters" to lift tangible net asset value (TNAV) per share to 392p and the common equity tier 1 capital ratio to 14.1%.
Group return on tanglible equity reached 12.3% for the year-to-date, leading the full0year RoTE guidance being lifted to "more than 11%", up from the previous target of around 11%. The 2026 goal of greater than 12% remains in place.
Income for the third quarter rose 9% year-on-year to £7.2 billion, with net interest income excluding the investment bank and head office up 16% to £3.3 billion.
Growth was seen across all major business lines, notably a 19% rise in US consumer banking income and a 16% increase in Barclays UK.
Profit before tax fell 7% to £2.08 billion, though this was slightly ahead of the average City analyst forecast.
Total operating expenses rose 14% to £4.5 billion, including £255 million of litigation and conduct charges, of which £235 million related to motor finance redress.
The bank also reported credit impairment charges of £0.6 billion, lower than expected, with a loan loss rate of 57 basis points.
Barclays said it had already achieved its targeted 2025 cost savings of £500 million, one quarter ahead of schedule but with its 2025 cost-to-income ratio guidance of approximately 61% maintained.
The CET1 ratio will be 13.9% after accounting for the buyback, remaining at the top of the bank’s 13-14% target range.
The group plans to announce updated financial and operational targets through to 2028 alongside its full-year 2025 results in February next year.