HSBC reports 56% profit jump in 2023 but misses estimates; unveils US$2-billion new share buy-back programme, higher dividend
- Net profit rose 56 per cent to US$22.43 billion for the full year in 2023, or US$1.15 per share but hurt by property sector bad debt provisioning and investment write-off
- HSBC also announced a new US$2 billion share buy-back programme that will commence soon and a higher full year dividend of US$0.61 per share
HSBC, the biggest of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing banks, missed annual profit estimates as the impact of a higher interest margin was offset by bad-debt provisions related to mainland China’s real estate sector and impairment charge in its stakes at Bank of Communications.
Net profit rose 56 per cent to US$22.43 billion for the full year in 2023, or US$1.15 per share, from US$14.82 billion in 2022, missing the US$26.1 billion net profit expected by analysts, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
Pre-tax profit jumped 78 per cent to US$30.3 billion in the year under review, compared with US$17.53 billion a year earlier. This was also lower than market estimates of US$33.72 billion.
HSBC also announced a new US$2 billion share buy-back programme and a higher dividend of US$0.61 per share for the full year versus US$0.32 per share in 2022, increasing its dividend payout ratio to 50 per cent from 44 per cent in 2022 and 40 per cent in 2021.
In 2020, the lender had angered many Hong Kong retail investors after it had followed the instructions of the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority and cancelled its final dividend for 2019 and suspended its dividend payment to ensure it had enough capital for tiding over difficult economic conditions during the pandemic.