Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has said its quarterly profits almost doubled to $3.15 billion, helped by fees from a wave of corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Earnings per share for the period to November 24 were $6.59, up from $3.35 a year ago and compared with Wall Street forecasts for just $6.
Goldman's coffers swelled as its mergers and acquisitions business boomed following a frenzy of corporate deals this year. The firm, which also reported its full-year results for the year ended November, said its investment banking revenues for 2006 soared 53% to $5.6 billion.
Net profits for the year ballooned 70% to $9.54 billion, while the bank's earnings per share for the year spiked 76% to $19.69 per share.
