Standard Chartered announces record share buy-back after profits beat estimates
Standard Chartered, one of Hong Kong's three currency issuers, announced a multibillion-dollar share buy-back programme amid a rise in pre-tax profits driven by its wealth business.
The London-headquartered bank, which derives most of its business in Asia, reported a 15 per cent increase in second-quarter pre-tax profit to US$1.8 billion, beating analysts' estimates of US$1.6 billion.
The bank said it would repurchase a record US$1.5 billion of shares as it looks to return a total of US$5 billion to shareholders by 2026.
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"We produced a strong set of results for the first half of the year, demonstrating the value of our franchise as a cross-border corporate and investment bank and a leading wealth manager for affluent clients," CEO Bill Winters said in an earnings statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.
Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered. Photo: Bloomberg>
Net interest income for the three months to June rose 6 per cent to US$2.6 billion, as the bank benefited from treasury operations. The bank's net interest margin grew to 1.93 per cent versus 1.71 per cent a year earlier.
Second-quarter operating income, the equivalent of revenue in US accounting terms, rose 6 per cent year on year to US$4.8 billion.
The bank's wealth unit performed admirably, growing 25 per cent year on year to US$618 million, benefiting from the launch of new products and addition of rich clients.
Net new sales more than doubled to US$13 billion and wealth assets under management at the end of June stood at US$135 billion, an increase of 12 per cent since the end of last year, the filings showed.
The bank announced an interim ordinary dividend of 50 per cent to 9 US cents per share.
Standard Chartered, which fell 1.9 per cent before the earnings report at the midday lunch break, jumped 3.7 per cent to HK$76.00 in afternoon trading.
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