REUTERS

NEW YORK

GOLDMAN Sachs Group reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings thanks to aggressive cost-cutting and strong investment banking and trading revenues, and the Wall Street bank raised its dividend.

Goldman earned $2.1 billion, or $3.92 per share. In the year-ago period, which was generally stronger for investment banks’ trading and banking activity, it earned $4.38 per share, excluding a one-time cost for buying back preferred stock.

Analysts had expected $3.55 per share.

Goldman said it would raise its quarterly dividend to 46 cents per share from 35 cents.

Goldman shares were down 1 percent in premarket trading.

Revenue was down across most of Goldman’s businesses except for financial advisory and equities client execution.

But bond-market businesses were a bright spot compared to the 2011 fourth quarter, when markets were still reeling from the European debt crisis. Revenue more than doubled in debt underwriting and fixed-income, currency and commodities trading.

Goldman also made further cuts to staffing and expenses in what is expected to be the final stretch of an aggressive cost-cutting programme that began during the second half of 2011.

The bank set aside $4.4 billion for compensation and benefits during the first quarter, down 16 percent from a year earlier. It also reduced its workforce by 900