By Kosaku Narioka
Standard Chartered is scheduled to report the fourth-quarter results on Friday. Here is what you need to know:
NET PROFIT: Standard Chartered is expected to post a 32% drop in net profit to $615 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, according to a poll of analysts by Visible Alpha. That would compare with net profit of $907 million in the year-earlier period.
Its shares in Hong Kong have risen 16% so far this year through Wednesday, following a 46% gain in 2024, driven by a recovery in earnings and receding fears about the bank's business in China.
WHAT TO WATCH:
--Third-quarter net interest income--the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits--fell 23% to $1.48 billion. Investors will be focusing on any signs of a recovery in the bank's key source of earnings.
--The lender booked credit impairments of $178 million in the third quarter, down from $292 million in the year-earlier period. Investors will be paying attention to the its credit costs as economic uncertainty continues in various parts of the world.
--StanChart said in October that it planned to return at least $8 billion to shareholders over 2024 to 2026, up from at least $5 billion it guided previously. Investors will be closely watching any updates on the bank's plans for buybacks and dividends.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2025 01:51 ET (06:51 GMT)
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