The HSBC logo on the side of its building in the financial district of Singapore, on March 9, 2016. The bank reported its net profits doubled in the first half of 2023. File Photo by Wallace Woon/EPA
Aug. 1 (UPI) — The British international bank HSBC said on Tuesday that its second-quarter net profit more than doubled over the same period in 2022 to $18.1 billion by the end of June.
The bank raked in $21.7 billion over the first six months of this year before taxes, blowing past the $8.78 in made-in pre-tax profits it made at this point year. The HSBC board, in return, approved a second interim dividend of $0.10 per share and announced a further share buyback of up to $2 billion.
“We have delivered a strong first-half performance and are confident of achieving our revised mid-teens return on tangible equity target in 2023 and 2024,” said Noel Quinn, HSBC’s group chief executive, in a statement.
“There was good broad-based profit generation around the world, higher revenue in our global businesses driven by strong net interest income, and continued tight cost control.”
HSBC said its revenue increased by $12.3 billion to $36.9 billion in the first half of the year, driven by higher net interest income in all of its global businesses due to interest rate rises. The bank also managed to drive down operating expenses in the first half to $15.5 billion, 4% under its 2022 figure.
“There is still much work to do, especially given the many challenges in the global economy, but I am confident about the future as we move further into the next phase of our strategy and focus on opportunities to drive value creation, diversify our revenue and retain tight cost control,” Quinn said.
With the success, HSBC has also raised a key performance target, forecasting a near-term return on tangible equity of 12%, compared to its previous target of 9.9%.