Pre-tax profit fell 1.7 per cent from a year ago to US$12.65 billion in the quarter. That was much better than the consensus estimate of US$7.9 billion.
It included a US$4.8 billion gain following the sale of its banking business in Canada to Royal Bank of Canada, though this was partly offset by a US$1.1 billion impairment following the sale of its Argentina business.
HSBC announced a new US$3 billion share buy-back programme that will commence soon, and a first-quarter dividend of US$0.10 per share, up slightly from US$0.09 in the first quarter 2023.
The lender announced a special dividend of US$0.21 per share in the first half of this year after completing the sale of its Canadian business.
“I’m pleased with our start to 2024. We completed the sale of our Canada business and agreed the sale of our Argentina business, both of which allow us to focus on markets with higher value international opportunities,” said CEO Noel Quinn in an earnings statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.
HSBC’s shares remained unchanged at HK$65.55 at the noon break on Tuesday, before the announcement.
The London-based bank, one of Europe’s largest by assets, generates much of its revenue in Asia.
Overall, the bank’s Asian business reported a first-quarter pre-tax profit decrease of 6.9 per cent from a year earlier to US$5.4 billion. Revenue rose by 3 per cent to US$20.8 billion, which was higher than estimates of US$16.53 billion.
Revenue growth was driven by the sales of the Canadian and Argentine units but also reflected growth in demand for wealth management products, HSBC said in its statement.
Net interest income fell by 3.3 per cent to US$8.7 billion, compared with US$9 billion a year earlier. The bank’s net interest margin, an important measure of profitability, fell 6 basis points to 1.63 per cent.
The bank said it expects to complete the sale of its Russian business sometime in the second quarter.