Barclays has cheered its highest half-year profits for nearly a decade, but warned costs will need to be slashed over 2019.

The lender reported an 82% surge in statutory pre-tax profits to £3.01 billion for the six months to June 30 as it put hefty mis-selling charges and settlements behind it.

On an underlying basis, interim pre-tax profits fell 15% to £3.1 billion.

The lender reiterated warnings that keeping a tight lid on costs is a "priority" and said they will need to be reduced over the year to below £13.6 billion as it battles against a "challenging income environment".

It revealed 3,000 jobs had been cut in the second quarter out of an 83,500-strong workforce, although this largely affected what the bank described as "non revenue producers".

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The first-half statutory profit compares with £1.7 billion a year earlier, when it was hit by costs of the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal and a £1.4 billion settlement with US authorities over its sale of mortgage-backed securities in the lead-up to the financial crisis.

The group did not put any further money aside for PPI mis-selling claims, in contrast to its rival Lloyds Banking Group on Wednesday, which revealed another £550 million hit.

Barclays said it still had £360 million left in PPI cash set aside, but admitted there was increased "uncertainty associated with future claims levels" amid a late surge ahead of the August 29 deadline.

Jes Staley, group chief executive of Barclays, said it was "another resilient quarter of performance".

He added: "Management focus on cost control remains a priority, and we expect to reduce expenses to below £13.6 billion for 2019.

"This all puts us in a position to continue to increase the return of capital to shareholders by declaring a half-year dividend of 3p."

Its statutory results showed £114 million in litigation and conduct costs, down from £2 billion a year earlier.

The pressure on income was felt in its UK retail bank, which saw income fall 2% to £3.5 billion as profit margins were knocked amid fierce competition, although this was partially offset by growth in mortgages and customer deposits.

Underlying pre-tax profits fell 11% to £1.1 billion in the retail bank.

Its corporate and investment bank saw pre-tax profits fall 15% to £1.7 billion in the first half as equities income tumbled 17%.

Mobile network Three has reported an increase in customer numbers over the first half of the year as it pumps "huge investment" into the launch of its 5G network later this month.

Three will be the latest telecoms company to launch a 5G service in the UK, following EE and Vodafone.

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The company said it has made "significant progress" with a transformation programme to improve its network and IT systems ahead of the launch.

However, during the half-year to June, Three saw earnings before tax slide by 8% to £334 million on the back of significant infrastructure spending.

Revenues also fell, slipping 2% to £1.17 billion compared with the same period in 2018.

It reported the slump in sales despite bumping its customer numbers higher, with its active customer base rising 1% to 10.2 million and its number of contracted customers rising 2% to 7 million.

Three reported a decline in broadband customers across its portfolio, down to 830,000 from 840,000 last year.

The firm said it will launch its 5G mobile and home broadband service in 25 towns and cities across the UK by the end of 2019.

The company will include 5G in all existing customer tariffs at no extra cost, which it said will make it the only UK mobile provider to do so.

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Three was founded in 2003 and employs more than 4,800 people across its offices in Maidenhead, Glasgow and Reading, and 326 retail stores.

Dave Dyson, chief executive of Three UK, said: "The second half of 2019 will see the most important and exciting milestone in our history since we launched the UK's first 3G network in 2003.

"Three has a long history of putting UK consumers first and the launch of the UK's fastest 5G network using our leading 5G spectrum portfolio and investment in world class cloud-based infrastructure means that we can disrupt the UK's home broadband network, at the same time as serving our data-hungry mobile customers."

Outsourcing firm Capita has posted a dip in profits and revenue for the first half.

Revenue fell to £1.85 billion, down from £2.01 billion last year, while pre-tax profits were £31.2 million, down from £42.3 million.

The company maintained its full-year guidance, expecting profit before tax to be between £265 million and £295 million.

Chief executive Jon Lewis said: "We have made significant progress in a short period of time.

"There is still much work to do but the foundations we are laying now will put us in a position to succeed and grow."

Shares were up 17% on Thursday afternoon.