HSBC reinstates dividend as Q! profits treble

2nd May 2023 07:01

(Sharecast News) - HSBC reinstated its dividend and announced a new round of share buybacks as it trebled first-quarter profits on the back of rising interest rates.

The bank posted a pre-tax profit of $13bn for the three months to March against $4.2bn a year earlier and the $8.64bn average company-compiled analysts' estimates.

It was also boosted by a reversal of a $2bn impairment HSBC took against the planned sale of its French business, reflecting the fact that the deal may no longer go through.

A 10 cent-per-share payout was declared, the first quarterly dividend since 2019 and the lender also flagged the first of a new cycle of buybacks of up to $2bn.

"With the good momentum we have in our business, we expect to have substantial future distribution capacity for dividends and share buybacks," CEO Noel Quinn said in the results statement.

HSBC also credited a provisional gain of $1.5bn on its £1 acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK in March when its US parent collapsed.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com