Standard Chartered’s profits fell year-on-year in the second quarter but still beat analyst forecasts, leading to an announcement of a share buyback.
Standard Chartered posted $1.32 billion in pre-tax profit for the second quarter, according to its latest results, marking a 12 percent year-on-year decrease. Underlying operating income fell 8 percent to $3.93 billion while operating expenses stayed flat at $2.63 billion.
Still, the results beat the average estimates of analysts compiled by the bank of $1.06 billion for the period.
For the first half, Standard Chartered posted an overall pre-tax profit of $2.82 billion, up 7 percent compared to the same period last year.
In addition to a $119 million interim dividend payout, or 4 cents per share, the bank also announced a share buyback of $500 million with the aim of returning more than $5 billion to shareholders over the next three years.
East Versus West
While the bank notes that there are continued challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war, Covid-related impact, supply chain disruptions, recession and inflation risks, it also highlighted a relatively brighter near term outlook for markets closer to Asia.
«The external environment is likely to remain challenging in light of the Russia-Ukraine war, the continuing impacts of COVID-19 and widespread supply chain disruptions. Recession risks are rising in the US and Europe as central banks are compelled to raise interest rates to address the rapid and sizeable increases in inflation,» said Standard Chartered group chief executive Bill Winters.
«However, in the East, many of the markets in which we operate are in the early stages of a post-pandemic recovery. China is deploying strong policy stimulus that should help kick-start the economy so boosting domestic and regional activity. We are well equipped to navigate this complex macroeconomic picture with the solid risk-management foundations that the Group has built over time and the resilience of our diversified business model.»
