Goldman Sachs reports $2.2 bn loss, first since going public

16 Dec 2008, 1914 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported its first quarterly loss since going public nine years ago as the plunging value of stocks, debt and real estate caught up with a Wall Street leader that had largely avoided fallout from the global credit crisis.

Goldman's loss amounted to $4.97 per share, proving the turmoil in the financial markets has tripped up even the best-run financial institutions. Goldman earned $3.17 billion, or $7.01 per share, during the year-ago period.

Analysts, who have been ratcheting down their expectations amid speculation of mounting investment losses, estimated Goldman would lose $3.73 per share.

The investment banking sector was turned on its head in September when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Goldman and Morgan Stanley became bank holding companies.

Excluding one-time items, analysts, on average, had expected a loss of $3.73 a share, according to media Estimates.

The company reported negative net revenue of $1.58 billion as writedowns outstripped revenue. A year earlier, net revenue totaled $10.7 billion.

Goldman shares rose 4.1 percent in premarket trading. Analysts warned in recent weeks that falling prices of equities, fixed income and other investments would generate up to $9 billion in writedowns at Goldman. November put an exclamation point on Wall Street's worst year since the Great Depression.

Goldman's shares have fallen nearly 70 percent this year, and nearly two-thirds since September, as investors lost confidence in Wall Street's lightly regulated, highly leveraged broker-dealers.