JPMorgan Chase fourth quarter profit beats estimate

JPMorgan Chase fourth quarter profit beats estimate

A man walks into the headquarters of JPMorgan Chase in New York, the United States, Jan. 12, 2010. JPMorgan Chase & Co. easily beat analysts' expectation by reporting a profit of 3.28 billion U.S. dollars in the fourth quarter last year, according to its earnings result released on Friday.

NEW YORK, Jan. 15 -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. easily beat analysts' expectation by reporting a profit of 3.28 billion U.S. dollars in the fourth quarter last year, according to its earnings result released on Friday.

As the first major financial firm to deliver quarterly statement, the New York City-based bank said it had earned 74 cents on a per share basis during the final three months of 2009. Analysts had expected the company to report a profit of 2.46 billion dollars, or 61 cents a share.

The company's investment banking business contributed a profit of 1.9 billion dollars, largely helped by robust debt and stock underwriting fees. Debt underwriting fees jumped 58 percent to 732million dollars from one year ago, while stock underwriting fees climbed 66 percent to 549 million dollars.

A man walks past a branch of JPMorgan Chase in New York, the United States, Jan. 12, 2010. JPMorgan Chase & Co. easily beat analysts' expectation by reporting a profit of 3.28 billion U.S. dollars in the fourth quarter last year, according to its earnings result released on Friday.

For the full year, JPM earned 11.7 billion dollars, or 2.26 dollars per share on record managed revenue of 108.6 billion dollars. The bank earned 5.6 billion dollars, or 1.35 dollars per share in 2008.

However, JPM's total revenue on a managed basis was 25.24 billion dollars, lower than the 26.8 billion dollars analysts had predicted. The bank's shares fell about 2 percent to 43.80 dollars in early morning trading on Friday.
(Shen Hong)