Barclays says "significant" drop in Q1 fixed income

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc (LSE: BARC.L - news) said its investment bank had seen a "significant" fall in income in its key fixed income business in the first quarter, continuing a slump seen across the industry last year.

Barclays said it will report a "small reduction" in adjusted pretax profit for the first quarter compared to a year ago, as improvements in costs partially offsets the drop in investment bank profits. Barclays will report its first quarter results on May 6.

"Our fixed income, credit and commodities (FICC) business continued to face many of the challenges seen in the second half of 2013 with a significant year-on-year reduction in FICC income, reflecting difficult market conditions and a strong comparative performance for Q1 last year," Barclays said in a statement ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Matt Scuffham)