Reuters
HSBC Holdings beat forecasts on Monday with first-half pretax profit that more than doubled from last year when it set aside $7 billion to cover pandemic-related bad loans.
Encouraged by an economic rebound in its two biggest markets of Hong Kong and Britain, HSBC reinstated dividend payments, flagged higher payouts in the future, and released $700 million that had been set aside as provisions. It also said share buybacks were under review as an option after ruling them out earlier this year.
Like rivals, Europe's biggest bank is benefiting from better-than-hoped for resilience on the part of companies grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, a decline in revenue underscored longer-term challenges.
HSBC reported pretax profit of $10.8 billion, higher than the $4.32 billion in the same period a year earlier and a consensus estimate of $9.45 billion compiled by the bank.
Revenue fell 4% due to a low interest rate environment especially in Asia, where it makes most of its money, and a weaker performance from its investment bank compared to a strong first half last year. Growth should come from managing more wealthy customers' money and shifting investment banking resources from Europe and the United States to Asia, Chief Executive Noel Quinn told Reuters.
"We're still in the early days of the economic rebound, we need to see all those numbers become the trend for the future, we are encouraged but there is more still to go," he said.
Quinn said he did not expect any decline in investment appetite for China after regulatory crackdowns have upended norms for the country's tech, property and private tutoring sectors, leaving some overseas investors bruised and uncertain. read more
"We see strong liquidity seeking investment opportunities in Hong Kong and Asia," he said.
In a separate call with analysts, Quinn also said HSBC was targeting bolt-on acquisitions in Asia outside China to expand its wealth management business, adding the bank was "looking at three or four as we speak" in areas including insurance and asset management.
HSBC plans to pay an interim dividend of seven cents a share after the Bank of England scrapped payout curbs last month. That compares with its interim dividend of $0.31 per share in pre-pandemic 2019.
