HSBC profit misses estimates; bank announces $2 billion share buyback

HSBC‘s full-year 2023 pre-tax profit missed analysts’ estimates, hit by impairment prices linked to the London-based lender’s stake in a Chinese language financial institution — sinking its shares by as a lot as 3%.

Europe’s largest financial institution by belongings noticed its pre-tax revenue climb about 78% to $30.3 billion in 2023 from a 12 months in the past, in line with its statement launched Wednesday through the mid-day buying and selling break in Hong Kong. That missed median estimates of $34.06 billion from analysts tracked by LSEG.

Chief Govt Noel Quinn additionally introduced an extra share buyback of as much as $2 billion and the best full-year dividend per share since 2008. With three share buy-backs in 2023 totaling $7 billion, Quinn stated the financial institution returned $19 billion to shareholders final 12 months.

The financial institution suffered a “valuation adjustment” of $3 billion on its stake in Financial institution of Communications, Quinn stated.

HSBC’s Hong Kong shares reversed good points of about 1% after buying and selling resumed, falling as a lot as 3.2% in early afternoon commerce. The benchmark Cling Seng Index was up practically 3%.

Listed here are the opposite highlights of the financial institution’s full 12 months 2023 monetary report card:

• Income for 2023 elevated by 30% to $66.1 billion, in contrast with the median LSEG forecast for about $66 billion.
• Web curiosity margin, a measure of lending profitability, was 1.66% — in contrast with 1.48% in 2022.
• Widespread fairness tier 1 ratio — which measures the financial institution’s capital in relation to its belongings — was 14.8%, in contrast with 14.2% in 2022.
• Primary earnings per share was $1.15, in contrast with the median LSEG forecast for $1.28 in 2023 and 75 cents for 2022.

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