Goldman Sachs beats estimates as investment banking revenue soars

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Inc on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit that trumped analysts' estimates, as strength in its investment banking business helped cushion the blow from a slump in trading.

Net loss applicable to shareholders was $2.14 billion or $5.51 per share in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with profit of $2.15 billion or $5.08 per share last year. http://bit.ly/2Ba6H9f

The quarter included a one-time charge of $4.40 billion from the sweeping tax code changes enacted by President Donald Trump.

A big chunk of the charge is on the repatriation taxes - the cost of moving money from foreign countries to the U.S. - the bank had said in December.

However, excluding the one-off charge and other items, the Wall Street bank recorded earnings per share of $5.68. Analysts were looking for $4.91 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimate.

Revenue from investment banking - which includes fees from IPOs, underwriting and M&A advisory - rose 44.1 percent to $2.14 billion.

From trading bonds, currencies and securities (FICC), the company earned $1 billion, down 50 percent from last year.

Goldman has been actively shifting towards lesser market-sensitive divisions, such as investment management and consumer lending, to stave off some of the volatility from its bond and equity trading division - a unit that has seen the most headwinds over the last couple of quarters.

Revenue, including net interest income, fell 4.1 percent to $7.83 billion, but beat average estimates of $7.61 billion.

Total operating expenses fell 1 percent to $4.73 billion.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)