NEW YORK, July 20: Financial colossus Citigroup Inc. unveiled a better-than-expected record quarterly profit of $6.23 billion on Friday as its coffers overflowed with lucrative earnings from its investment banking and global operations.Citigroup said its second-quarter net profit leapt 18 per cent from the same period a year ago, as it also announced earnings per share of $1.24.

Most analysts had expected Citigroup to post earnings per share of $1.13.

“We have very clear priorities to drive growth and we are executing on all of them,” said Citi chairman and chief executive Charles Prince.

Prince said revenue growth in both the United States and from the bank’s substantial international network helped Citigroup smash Wall Street’s earnings forecast.

The banking and financial services titan also reported that its overall revenues jumped 20 per cent to a record $26.6 billion during the quarter.

“The report is good enough to give the stock some support in what continues to be a very difficult environment for the financial sector,” said Dick Green, a market analyst at Briefing.com.

Breaking down Citigroup’s massive profit shows it raked in over two $2 billion per month during the quarter, or around $500 million every week.

Its record-topping profit of $6.23 billion easily overshadowed the latest quarterly earnings of Google, Microsoft, Pfizer and Yahoo, which combined amounted to about $5.4 billion.

Citigroup's international revenue grew more strongly than its domestic revenue stream, but revenues from the bank’s investment banking, global wealth management and private banking divisions all swelled strongly.

Investment banking revenue grew 28 per cent to $1.47 billion following a frenzy of mergers and acquisitions which have helped propel the US stock market to record heights in recent weeks.—AFP