Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-biggest bank, said it may match 2006 profit this year, even as securities writedowns end a four-year growth streak.

Barclays rose 5.4 percent in London trading today after the bank said pretax profit this year will be ``broadly in line'' with analysts' average estimate of about 7.1 billion pounds ($14.7 billion). The London-based bank faces ``a greater range of uncertainty'' in 2008 and can't forecast earnings, Finance Director Chris Lucas said on a conference call.

The statement was ``broadly reassuring,'' John-Paul Crutchley, a London-based analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co., said in a note to clients. ``We expect to see a modest reduction in retail banking profits offset by the stronger delivery from commercial banking,'' said Crutchley, who rates the shares ``buy.''

Barclays, which reached a four-year low earlier this month on the London Stock Exchange, has recovered 10 percent as analysts including Credit Suisse Group forecast the bank's earnings growth will resume next year. Barclays said Nov. 15 that writedowns on credit-related securities tied to U.S. subprime-mortgages will be 1.3 billion pounds, ``smaller than the worst-case market expectations,'' analysts at London-based Collins Stewart said.

Losses from the falling value of subprime-mortgage assets globally may reach $400 billion, Deutsche Bank AG analysts wrote Nov. 12. Citigroup Inc., the second-biggest U.S. bank by market value, posted $6.5 billion in writedowns and losses from credit markets on Oct. 10 and said Nov. 5 it may have $11 billion of additional losses. Merrill Lynch & Co. took an $8.4 billion writedown last month, almost double its forecast.

`Impairments'

``Half of the writedowns in Barclays Capital were treated as impairments rather than negative trading revenue,'' said Derek Chambers, a London-based analyst at Standard & Poor's Equity Research in London who has a ``buy'' rating on the stock. ``It is perhaps part of the reason why Barclays has got off more likely than some of its peers.''

Barclays rose 27 pence to 524 pence, reducing this year's decline to 28 percent and valuing the bank at 34.8 billion pounds. Five analysts rate the shares ``sell,'' while seven rate it ``hold,'' and 13 rate it ``buy,'' according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

``Our performance in the nine months to the end of September was supported by good underlying growth in global retail and commercial banking and by resilience in investment banking and investment management in the face of turbulent market conditions in the second half,'' Chief Executive Officer John Varley said in the statement.

Barclays has increased earnings each year since 2003. Net income increased 33 percent in 2006 to 4.57 billion pounds, boosted by one-time gains of 323 million pounds.

Strong Liquidity

``Liquidity remains strong and we continue to see good inflows of deposits,'' it said. The bank's tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of financial strength, is forecast to be about 7.25 percent, meeting its target, Barclays said. It bought back 1.69 billion pounds of its shares as of Nov. 26, it said.

Credit Suisse lowered its 2007 estimate for Barclays earnings per share by 3 percent to 68 pence and raised its 2008 estimate by 5 percent to 75 pence, it said today in a client note.

``That there is no further update on Barclays Capital also suggests things haven't materially changed over the last two weeks,'' said Jonathan Pierce, a London-based analyst at Credit Suisse, which maintained a ``neutral'' rating on Barclays shares.

Pretax profit at Barclays Capital, the securities unit run by President Robert Diamond, will increase 6.2 percent this year, compared with a 55 percent jump in 2006, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Ltd. estimates.

`Negligible'

Bad loans in unsecured credit ``continued to improve'' and are ``negligible'' in mortgages, Barclays said. The U.K. bank's cost-income ratio probably will improve by two percentage points, excluding settlements paid to consumers for overdraft fees.

The company, which last month abandoned its 63.2 billion-euro ($93.9 billion) bid for ABN Amro Holding NV, said last month it can still deliver ``significant growth in the coming years.'' The bank reports financial results twice a year and is scheduled to post full 2007 results on Feb. 19.

Pretax profit at Absa, the bank's South African unit, declined in sterling because of depreciation in the rand, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jon Menonjmenon1@bloomberg.netBen Livesey in London blivesey@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 27, 2007 12:32 EST