2023-05-02 08:03:18
The HSBC banking group announced on Tuesday a jump in its net profit group share of 274.8% over one year in the first quarter of 2023.
From January to March, HSBC’s net profit reached 10.327 billion dollars (9.16 billion francs), against 2.755 billion over the same period in 2022.
Over the same period, the group said its pre-tax profits rose 210.9% year-on-year, from 4.144 billion to 12.886 billion, according to the group’s financial statement.
“Our excellent first quarter results prove once again that our strategy is working,” Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in a statement, noting that “profits were spread across our core geographies.”
The sale of retail banking activities in France to My Money Group, controlled by the American fund Cerberus, is now “less certain”, says the group.
“This is due to an unexpected rise in interest rates in France, which will increase the amount of capital required by the buyer at the end of the transaction”, he further specifies.
Pressure has been mounting on HSBC since its largest shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An, asked the bank to spin off its Asian operations, as part of a “strategic restructuring” aimed at unlocking value for shareholders.
The banking giant, which makes most of its profits in Asia, called on its shareholders to “vote against the resolutions” going in the direction of the Ping An project during the general meeting on May 5.
The proposal, however, has gained traction among retail investors in Hong Kong, with some expressing frustration over the bank’s cancellation of dividends during the pandemic.
In a rare public address, the Chinese insurer said HSBC was lagging behind international competition and that its recent performance improvement was only due to rising interest rates, which have now reached its peak.
Ping An also cited deteriorating US-China relations as a justification for the restructuring.
HSBC however estimated that this proposal would not make it possible “to release more value for the shareholders. On the contrary, the impact would be negative”.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / awp / afp
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