HSBC’s (HSBA.L) results for the first quarter of 2024 came as a surprise as its CEO Noel Quinn announced an early retirement after five years at the helm of the bank. The lender began looking for his replacement.
The news came as it reported pre-tax profit of $12.7bn (£10.1bn) – higher than analysts’ forecasts of $12.6bn and slightly below 12.9bn billion dollars from the same quarter last year.
The bank faces rising costs in Asia, high inflation and what it calls “investments in technology.”
Pretax profit included a $4.8 billion gain on the sale of its Canadian operations and a $1.1 billion writedown related to the planned sale of its Argentina operations.
HSBC announced it would repurchase $3 billion worth of shares, bringing the total buybacks for shareholders to $8.8 billion. It will also pay a dividend of $0.10 per share.
The bank’s forecast for 2024 remains unchanged, she added.
