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Investing.com-- Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) clocked a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit on Thursday, as it benefited from strength in its wealth management and global trading units.
The lender announced a $1.3 billion buyback, starting immediately, and declared an interim dividend of 12.3 cents.
Standard Chartered posted an adjusted pretax profit of $2.40 billion for the June quarter, up 34% year-on-year and higher than Bloomberg estimates of $1.9 billion.
The bank’s net interest income was broadly flat at $2.7 billion. But its non-net interest income jumped 31% to $2.8 billion, buoyed by strong returns in wealth management, global markets, and global banking.
Wealth management saw a 20% rise in income, while income from the global markets unit surged 47% in Q2.
CEO Bill Winters said the strong first-half performance was driven chiefly by a focus on cross-border banking and affluent clients, while the bank was also focusing on curbing costs and navigating market volatility.
The London-listed lender makes a bulk of its revenue from Asia and Africa. But it managed to largely dodge a severe write-down for its Chinese assets as seen with rival HSBC. Stanchart reported an impairment charge of $336 million in the first half, largely from its wealth management and retail banking operations.
The company maintained its key performance targets, citing uncertainty over the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. But it slightly hiked its income guidance for the year.