Barclays H1 net profit up 29 pct

The banking entity8217;s total income rose 8 per cent from the year-ago period to 16.58 billion pounds in the quarter under review.

The company attributed its robust earnings to surge in profit at its investment banking division8211; Barclays Capital and sharp decline in bad debts.

8220;Against the backdrop of subdued economic and market activity and the sovereign debt storm of the second quarter,we have delivered a good growth in income and profits during the first half of the year.

The twin benefits of a broadly-based set of banking activities both by geography and business line and sound risk management lie behind these result,8221; Barclays Chief Executive John Varley said.

Besides,the company saw a decline in impairment charges by 32 per cent to 3.08 billion pounds.

The group8217;s investment banking unit Barclays Capital witnessed a three-fold jump in pre-tax profits to 3.4 billion pounds.

In addition,retail banking,profits before tax increased to 901 million pounds,up from 845 million pounds last year,while pre-tax profits fell 15 per cent to 317 million pounds at Barclaycard.

Meanwhile,British entity has declared a second interim dividend for the second quarter of 2010 of one pence a share,on top of the first interim dividend of one pence already paid to shareholders,making a total of two pence for the half year.