Morgan Stanley posted its second straight quarterly loss yesterday and slashed its dividend as real estate investment losses and a charge from the improving value of it own debt wiped out gains in its trading businesses.
The investment bank and brokerage giant reported a net loss applicable to common shareholders of $177 million (Dh650m), or 57 cents a share, for the first quarter. Revenue fell 62 per cent from a year earlier to $3 billion.
Analysts on average expected a loss of 9 cents a share, according to estimates. Morgan Stanley cut its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share. Morgan Stanley reported net income of $1.41bn, or $1.26 per share, in the comparable calendar quarter last year. These are the first results Morgan has released on a calendar-year basis since it became a bank holding company to help survive the stormiest weeks of the financial crisis last fall.
Morgan Stanley shares, which fell three per cent in premarket trade, have fallen by half over the past 12 months.
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