Standard Chartered reported a 5.5% rise in its first-quarter pretax profit on Thursday, beating estimates, as higher rates of interest boosted the emerging markets-focused lender’s earnings.
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Standard Chartered on Thursday reported a 5.5% rise in its first-quarter pretax profit, beating estimates, as higher rates of interest bolstered the emerging markets-focused lender’s earnings.
StanChart, which generates most of its revenue in Asia, said pretax profit was $1.91 billion within the quarter. This compares to $1.81 billion a yr ago and the $1.39 billion average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by the bank.
“We delivered strong results in the first quarter of 2024, with double-digit revenue growth and positive operating leverage,” StanChart CEO Bill Winters said within the earnings release.
“We remain confident that we will achieve our financial targets and stand by our full-year 2024 guidance.”
Despite the quarterly profit above forecasts, the bank suffered a deterioration in its credit standing in 2024, with a write-down of $165 million in the primary three months, in comparison with $20 million a yr earlier.
StanChart had taken a complete of $850 million in writedowns in previous quarters on its stake in China’s Bohai Bank, which, like its peers, was affected by a slowing Chinese economy and the deepening crisis within the country’s real estate sector.
The lender, which generates most of its revenue in Asia, said its cash in on joint ventures fell to $6 million from $18 million in the primary quarter, as Bohai Bank’s profit fell, one other Sign of his troubles in China.
