Standard Chartered Posts Stronger-Than-Expected 4Q Profit

By Sherry Qin

Standard Chartered PLC posted higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, supported by higher net interest income and sharply lower credit impairments.

The London-based lender, which earns most of its revenue in Asia, on Friday said its underlying pretax profit was $1.06 billion, beating the consensus of $957 million, according to estimates compiled by the company. The company reported pretax profit of $1.14 billion, sharply higher than $123 million in the year-earlier period.

The company recorded a $62 million credit impairment charge, down $232 million on quarter, due to charges in relation to the consumer, private and business banking segment, though this was partially offset by a net release from its corporate, commercial & institutional banking business.

The bank's underlying operating income rose to $4.02 billion, 7% higher than in the same period last year.

StanChart's underlying net interest income rose 6% to $2.39 billion, slightly lower than the estimate for $2.42 billion.

The lender said it would buy back up to $1 billion in shares starting immediately, which is expected to reduce it CET1 ratio by approximately 40 basis points.

The company expects its 2024 net interest income to be between $10 billion and $10.25 billion on a constant currency basis.

The bank also plans to return at least $5 billion to shareholders cumulatively over 2024 to 2026.

Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 23, 2024 00:08 ET (05:08 GMT)

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