LONDON—Barclays PLC on Friday said that first-half net profit slipped nearly a third as the bank sucked up losses selling down unwanted assets and put aside cash to cover rising bad loans.

Total income was down 9% to £ 11 billion ($14.49 billion) in the first six months of the year. Net profit fell to £ 1.1 billion from £ 1.6 billion the year before.

Barclays is reshaping its operations. After cutting dividends the bank is in the process trying to speed its slimming down, finding a buyer for a range of Barclays's businesses, including a stake in its African unit. The bank recorded a loss before tax of £ 1.9 billion selling down these assets.

Barclays was also hit by sharply rising impairments in both its credit card business and lending to oil and gas companies. The bank put aside an extra £ 400 million to compensate customers sold insurance products they didn't need.

Income at its U.K. retail business was flat for the year, with growth in personal banking hit by falling revenue at its profit engine credit card business. Barclays's corporate and investment bank saw profit before tax down 16% as revenue in equities slumped and costs increased.

Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 29, 2016 02:55 ET (06:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Barclays (NYSE:BCS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Barclays Charts.
Barclays (NYSE:BCS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Barclays Charts.