Barclays to exit Africa as profits fall

Barclays Plc reported a two percent fall in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit on Tuesday and unveiled plans to simplify its United Kingdom and international operations to boost returns and cut costs, primarily by exiting its historic African business.

The British lender said it would sell down its 62 percent stake in Barclays Africa Group (BGAJ) to focus on two main sibling divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate and International, two of its strongest divisions generating in excess of 10 percent return on equity, Reuters reported.

News of the restructuring came as the bank reported a weaker than expected adjusted pretax profit of 5.4 billion pounds ($7.52 billion) for the year to December 31, compared with 5.502 billion a year earlier.

The figure was below the average forecast of 5.772 billion from a consensus of analysts’ forecasts.

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