Before the US stock market opened on Friday, Citigroup Inc announced the first quarterly report of 2018.Citigroup Inc's first-quarter EPS was $1.68, higher than market expectations of $1.61; total revenue was $18.9 billion, up 3% from a year earlier, in line with expectations; and net profit was $4.6 billion.

In terms of business, revenue from the fixed income market was $3.42 billion, below expectations of $3.7 billion, while revenue from the stock market was $1.103 billion, higher than expected of $909 million.

Citigroup Inc said in his report that the financial data showed the company's good operating results and balanced franchise results in the first quarter of 2018, as reflected in revenue growth in credit card and retail banking in all regions; GNSS International Committee accrual basis business continued to maintain momentum, strong stock performance; loan growth based on a wide range of consumer and institutional franchises.

Citigroup Inc also made significant progress and further refinement in key priorities during the quarter, returning more than $3 billion in capital to shareholders in the first quarter and reducing more than 200 million shares in one year. Citigroup Inc said that in the future, the group will continue to invest in businesses with higher returns, maintain expenditure discipline, provide consistent performance, improve Citi's return on capital, and optimize its capital base so that capital can continue to return.

Earlier, Citi shares closed 3.21 per cent higher yesterday. Citigroup's pre-market shares rose 1.25% to $73.03 after the release of financial data.

Citigroup Inc CEO Corbat said in his speech that the first fiscal quarter laid a good foundation for the rest of the fiscal year.

(editor / Li Qiuru)