Barclays upbeat on year profit after shares dive

By Steve Slater and Dominic Lau

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays said it expects to report pre-tax profit for the year "well ahead" of sell-side analysts' consensus estimates next month after it shares plunged by a quarter on Friday.

In a statement issued after the London stock market closed, the bank said it "knew of no justification" for the sudden fall in its share price.

The stock closed down 25 percent at 98 pence, the lowest since 1993. Barclays shares have crashed 45 percent this week. The bank will announce results for the year ended December 31, 2008 on February 17, it said.

Dealers said there was no single reason for the fall, although some cited the return of short-selling after a temporary ban.

Talk of more writedowns following big losses by Bank of America and Citigroup Inc added to concerns that banks might need to raise more capital.

The Barclays statement said: "The board of Barclays knows no justification for the fall in the share price.

"The board of Barclays expects to report profit before tax for the year, after reflecting all costs, impairment and market valuations, well ahead of the 5,300 million pounds consensus estimate of sell-side analysts.

"Further, Barclays expects to report a year-end equity tier one capital ratio and tier one capital ratio, on a pro forma basis reflecting the conversion of the Mandatorily Convertible Notes, of approximately 6.5 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively."