Citigroup (NYSE: C) is set to release its first quarter earnings results before the market opens on Monday, April 19th.
During the fourth quarter of last year, Citigroup left investors disappointed by posting a negative earnings per share of $0.33, which exceeded the consensus estimates of $0.326 by $0.004. Citigroup had fourth quarter revenues of $11.7 billion, down from $13.0 billion in the prior quarter. The New York-based bank also had managed revenues of $13.4 billion, down from $14.8 billion in the third quarter.
The company had a total fourth quarter net loss of $7.6 billion, of which $6.2 billion was an after-tax loss associated with its repayment of debt to the government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
For the first quarter of 2010, analysts’ predictions range from a loss of $0.08 per share to a profit of $0.04 per share, with a consensus estimate of a $0.001 loss per share. During the last week, the consensus estimate for Citigroup’s earnings per share has declined by a fraction of 1% from $0.000 to -$0.001. The analysts that decreased their EPS estimates cited higher than expected credit losses on both commercial and consumer fronts.
Citigroup sold or divested 14 business units in its Citi Holdings division in 2009, including Smith Barney and Nikko Cordial Securities. In 2010, Citigroup sold its Citi Property Investors real-estate investment firm and spun-off an insurance unit, Primerica, in an IPO. Citigroup also sought plans to spin off its private equity unit.
