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Barclaycard, the credit card-issuing arm of Barclays PLC, Monday posted a pretax profit of 391 million pounds (US$662.8 million or 460 million euros) for the six months ended 30 June, up 0.8% from 388 million pounds for the same period last year. Income, net of insurance claims, reached 2 billion pounds for the first six months of the year, up from 1.4 billion pounds for the same period in 2008. Net interest income reached nearly 1.36 billion pounds during the period, up 72.8% from 787 million pounds for the same period last year, thanks to "strong growth in international average extended credit card balances," the financial institution said in a statement. Net fee and commission income increased 6.2%, to 620 million pounds from 584 million pounds. "Strong income growth across the portfolio, driven by increased lending, improved margins and foreign-exchange gains, was offset by higher impairment charges driven by the deterioration in the global economy and increased operating expenses due to acquisitions in 2008," the financial institution said. Impairment charges increased 91.8%, to 915 million pounds from 477 million pounds. The increase reflects "higher charges in Barclaycard International portfolios, particularly Barclaycard US, which was driven by loan growth and higher delinquency due to deteriorating economic conditions." Barclaycard had 11.9 million UK customers as of 30 June, virtually the same as last year. The issuer had 11.8 million international customers, up 45.7% from 8.1 million a year earlier.
