UK bank Barclays back in black

London: British bank Barclays said on Thursday that it returned to net profit in the first half of 2018, after logging a loss last time on the sale of its Africa division. Earnings after taxation stood at £468 million ($614 million, 525 million euros) in the six months to the end of June, Barclays said in a results statement. That contrasted with a net loss of £1.21 billion in the same part of 2017. Pre-tax profit however sank almost a third to £1.7 billion on the back of hefty litigation and conduct charges for the first three months of the year. But stripping out those provisions, half-year pre-tax profits rose by a fifth to £3.7 billion. — AFP