StanChart pre-tax operating profit rises 13pc in 2008
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Standard Chartered PLC Tuesday announced another exceptional performance for 2008 with income rising 26 per cent to US$13.97 billion and operating profit before tax (OPBT) 13 per cent to $4.57 billion, in what was a difficult operating environment particularly in the second half. Almost 80 per cent of the income growth came from organic businesses, says a press release.
The first half of 2008 saw strong economic growth across key markets driven by strong regional trade flows but performance in the second half was dampened as the financial crisis began to have an impact on the real economy across the world.
The Group managed to significantly build on its reputation as a flight to quality institution with customer deposits rising 31 per cent during 2008, most of it coming in the last quarter as confidence in financial institutions declined. Enhanced liquidity and an even stronger balance sheet, following Standard Chartered's successful rights issue in December, places the Group in a strong position to support clients and capture market share.
Peter Sands, group chief executive, Standard Chartered, said: "We remain open for business and are supporting our clients as they navigate this turmoil. We want to seize the opportunities arising from this turbulence. We have a clear and consistent strategy, and continue to invest for growth."
Most of bank's key geographies delivered strong performance with seven of the nine geographic regions recording income of over $1 billion in 2008. Singapore saw OPBT rise 67 per cent, India by 37 per cent, Middle East and Other South Asia (MESA) by 25 per cent, Korea by 10 per cent and Africa by five per cent. Despite an excellent first half, Hong Kong reported OPBT decline of 15 per cent as the macroeconomic environment worsened in the latter half.
Wholesale Banking which had an outstanding year with income growing 43 per cent to $7.49 billion and OPBT drove group performance by 28 per cent to $3 billion. Growth was broad-based across all product categories and geographies, with Global Markets reporting a 60 per cent jump in income and Transaction Banking 31 per cent. The strategy of deepening client relationships paid off with revenues from the top 50 clients rising 45 per cent, while the number of clients with revenues of over $10 million rose 88 per cent.
Consumer Banking delivered a three per cent growth in income but OPBT declined 33 per cent as the Wealth Management business slowed sharply in the second half following the slump in Asian equity markets. Overall, Wealth Management reported a six per cent income growth in 2008, while SME, another key focus for the business, saw income rising eight per cent.
The first half of 2008 saw strong economic growth across key markets driven by strong regional trade flows but performance in the second half was dampened as the financial crisis began to have an impact on the real economy across the world.
The Group managed to significantly build on its reputation as a flight to quality institution with customer deposits rising 31 per cent during 2008, most of it coming in the last quarter as confidence in financial institutions declined. Enhanced liquidity and an even stronger balance sheet, following Standard Chartered's successful rights issue in December, places the Group in a strong position to support clients and capture market share.
Peter Sands, group chief executive, Standard Chartered, said: "We remain open for business and are supporting our clients as they navigate this turmoil. We want to seize the opportunities arising from this turbulence. We have a clear and consistent strategy, and continue to invest for growth."
Most of bank's key geographies delivered strong performance with seven of the nine geographic regions recording income of over $1 billion in 2008. Singapore saw OPBT rise 67 per cent, India by 37 per cent, Middle East and Other South Asia (MESA) by 25 per cent, Korea by 10 per cent and Africa by five per cent. Despite an excellent first half, Hong Kong reported OPBT decline of 15 per cent as the macroeconomic environment worsened in the latter half.
Wholesale Banking which had an outstanding year with income growing 43 per cent to $7.49 billion and OPBT drove group performance by 28 per cent to $3 billion. Growth was broad-based across all product categories and geographies, with Global Markets reporting a 60 per cent jump in income and Transaction Banking 31 per cent. The strategy of deepening client relationships paid off with revenues from the top 50 clients rising 45 per cent, while the number of clients with revenues of over $10 million rose 88 per cent.
Consumer Banking delivered a three per cent growth in income but OPBT declined 33 per cent as the Wealth Management business slowed sharply in the second half following the slump in Asian equity markets. Overall, Wealth Management reported a six per cent income growth in 2008, while SME, another key focus for the business, saw income rising eight per cent.