Standard Chartered (HKG:2888) reported a statutory pre-tax profit of $800 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, down 30% from $1.1 billion a year earlier.

Statutory earnings per share stood at $0.202 for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2024, versus $0.340 in the year-ago period, according to a Friday disclosure with the Hong Kong Exchange.

The figure is lower than the EPS estimate of $0.22 based on a consensus of analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Underlying pre-tax profit stood at $1 billion, while underlying EPS fell to $0.289 from $0.304.

The British lender's Q4 statutory net interest income fell 8% year over year to $1.71 billion. Meanwhile, underlying net interest income came in at $2.86 billion, up 20% year-on-year.

For the full year 2024, the bank recorded a statutory pre-tax profit of $6 billion, compared with $5.1 billion in 2023. The underlying net interest income was $10.4 billion.

The company declared a final dividend of $0.28 per share, to be paid on May 19.

The bank also announced a $1.5 billion share buyback as part of its plan to return at least $8 billion to shareholders cumulatively from 2024 to 2026.

Looking ahead, StanChart expects its operating income to increase 5% to 7% CAGR in 2023-2026 at constant currency rates.