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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

JPMorgan Chase's earnings top forecasts
Unlike its peers in the financial services industry, JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday turned in a better quarterly performance than analysts had expected.

The bank reported net income of $2.4 billion, or 68 cents a share, on $16.9 billion of revenue. The income included a $2.6 billion writedown on its loan portfolio.

A year earlier, JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) posted record results with net income coming in at $4.8 billion, or $1.34 a share, and revenue at almost $19 billion.

This quarter's results topped analysts' consensus estimates of 64 cents per share on $2.1 billion in income, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. The bank narrowly missed revenue estimates of $17 billion.

"Our earnings this quarter were down significantly as market conditions and the credit environment remained challenging," said Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon in a statement. "However, the firm as a whole maintained solid business momentum and our capital position remained strong."

As this year has progressed, analysts have become increasingly concerned about JPMorgan's performance, lowering their estimates for the first quarter from $1.12 at the start of 2008. They have pointed to JPMorgan's large leveraged loan portfolio and rapidly weakening home-equity loan holdings as its Achilles heels. The company has said it would need to build up its loan loss reserves this quarter to compensate.

The bank added $2.5 billion to its allowance for credit losses, which now total $12.6 billion. It has a 8.3% Tier 1 capital ratio, which measures the bank's fiscal strength. A bank with a ratio of 6% or more is considered to be well-capitalized.

Still, JPMorgan has fared better than its rivals on Wall Street. And it's had a busy quarter.

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