HSBC says profits triple as it announces share buyback

By Michelle Toh, CNN

HSBC announced it had tripled its quarterly profit Tuesday, blowing past expectations as it benefited from high interest rates around the world.

Europe’s biggest bank recorded a whopping $12.9 billion in pre-tax profit for the quarter ended March. That was up 207% from a year earlier, and significantly higher than the $8.6 billion average predicted by a poll of 17 analysts compiled by HSBC.

The bank’s revenue also surged to $20.2 billion, compared with $12.5 billion for the same period the previous year.

This was “driven by higher net interest income in all of our global businesses due to interest rate rises,” the lender said in a statement.

Its shares in Hong Kong traded more than 3% higher following the earnings release.

In a sign of confidence, HSBC said Tuesday it would buy back up to $2 billion in shares, and roll out a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share.

HSBC attributed the jump in profits partly to a provisional sum of $1.5 billion it expects to gain from buying the UK unit of failed US lender, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

The group scooped up SVB’s troubled British arm in March, following the stunning collapse of its parent in the United States. HSBC paid just £1 ($1.20) for the acquisition, which effectively rescued the smaller bank.

HSBC also said its reported profit included $2.1 billion from reversing a cost related to the long-awaited sale of its retail banking business in France, as the status of that deal had “become less certain.”

HSBC disclosed last month that its buyer, a member of a French banking group, had asked to change the terms of the deal due to the costs of rising interest rates. As of last month, the parties were still in talks.

HSBC’s results come days before the London-based lender is expected to face shareholders at its annual meeting and take a vote on a controversial proposal that could force it to come up with a plan to spin off or reorganize its more profitable Asian business.

Those in favor say its performance has been strong in Asia but weak in other regions, dragging down its overall value. The bank’s top shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An, has publicly thrown its weight behind the idea.

HSBC’s board, however, has been resolute in its opposition to the proposal, with executives fiercely defending its strategy.

CEO Noel Quinn reinforced that message Tuesday.

“Our strong first quarter performance provides further evidence that our strategy is working,” he said in the statement.

“Our profits were spread across our major geographies, and all three global businesses performed well as we continued to meet our customers’ needs through our internationally connected franchises.”

The-CNN-Wire
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