Barclays profits top $6.6b

British bank Barclays Plc on Friday apologized for an interest rate rigging scandal that has rocked it and the banking industry in the past month as it beat expectations with an underlying half-year profit of more than 4 billion pounds. “We are sorry for the issues that have emerged over recent weeks and recognize that we have disappointed our customers and shareholders,” Chairman Marcus Agius said, as he reaffirmed a commitment to deliver a return on equity of 13 percent. Barclays reported an underlying pretax profit of 4.2 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) for the six months to the end of June, above an average forecast of 3.8 billion pounds from analysts polled by the company and up 13 percent from a year ago.