Amidst all the financial trouble going on, a ray of hope came this Monday when Goldman Sachs declared a first-quarter profit of $1.66 billion. This profit is 13% higher than the quarter a year ago. Another announcement made by the firm, was that it has decided to raise &5 billion in common stock through public. With this money, the bank intends to return the aid given to it by government which amounts to $10 billion.

According to Roger Freeman who is an analyst at Barclays Capital, the financial scenario hasn’t changed much since the bank received the government aid in last fall. In statements released by Goldman, it has revenue of $9.43 billion or $3.39 a share in the quarter. This is higher than double the $1.53 a share which was the estimates of analysts as indicated in a survey by Thomson Reuters. These earnings are a welcome change for Goldman which had a very bad 2008. This increase in earnings will support the bank in its further deal.

The chief executive of the bank, Llyod C. Blankfein, stated that the firm is pleased with this quarter’s performance especially given the financial trouble that is going on. The firm will discuss more about these earnings and its new capital in a conference on Tuesday.

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