HSBC 1H Net Profit $6.76B Vs $3.35B On Lower Impairments

2nd Aug 2010 09:32

By Patricia Kowsmann Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) said Monday that its net profit for the first half of the year doubled on lower impairment charges. The U.K.-based but Asia-focused bank reported a $6.76 billion net profit for the period, up from $3.35 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit came in at $11.1 billion, up from $5.02 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $9.3 billion. Results included a $1.09 billion gain for the fair value of financial instruments, compared with a $1.52 billion charge a year earlier. Banks can record gains if the value of their debt falls, since it becomes theoretically cheaper to repurchase it, and conversely book losses if the value of the debt rises. Impairment charges fell to $7.52 billion from $13.93 billion, the bank said. HSBC said its North American business made a pretax profit for the six months after nearly three years of losses from subprime lending in its U.S. consumer finance division. At 0830 GMT, HSBC shares were up 33 pence, or 5%, to 679 pence. They had been up about 2.7% shortly before the earnings were announced at 0815 GMT. -By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel +44(0)207-842-9295, [email protected] Order free Annual Report for HSBC Holdings plc Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=GB0005405286 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028 (END) Dow Jones Newswires August 02, 2010 04:32 ET (08:32 GMT)