Merrill Lynch & Co. reported a 10.3 percent surge in second-quarter profits Tuesday as strong performances from its private client and investment management businesses partially offset lower earnings in overseas and investment banking units.
The New York-based brokerage earned $1.08 billion, or $1.06 per share, in the three months ending June 25, up from $977 million, or $1 per share, in the same period one year ago.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expecting earnings of $1.09 per share.
Total revenue was nearly flat at $5.3 billion, up 0.6 percent from $5.27 billion one year ago.
For the first half of the year, Merrill earned $2.33 billion, or $2.27 per share, up nearly 44 percent from $1.62 billion, or $1.68 per share, in the same period one year ago.
Net revenue for the six months ended June 25 totaled $11.4 billion, up 13.1 percent from a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call are predicting earnings of $4.58 per share for the entire fiscal year.
Also Tuesday, the Board of Directors approved the repurchase of an additional $2 billion of the company's outstanding common shares. In early February, the board approved the repurchase of the same amount. Merrill repurchased 21.8 million shares during the second quarter at an average price of $56.19 per share.
