HSBC’s pre-tax profit reaches $10.8bn (£7.8bn)
HSBC confirmed on Monday its decision to pay an interim dividend after its pre-tax profit surged to $5.1bn during Q2.
The FTSE 100 bank continued to cancel provisions made in order to cover credit losses during the pandemic as it saw an improvement in the economic outlook.
HSBC’s profit before tax for H1 rose to $10.8bn (£7.8bn), up from $4.3bn year-on-year.
The bank confirmed it had been profitable across all regions during the period.
Noel Quinn, Group Chief Executive, said: “These are good results that reflect the return of growth in our main markets and marked progress in the execution of our strategy. We were profitable in every region in the first half of the year, supported by the release of expected credit loss provisions.”
“Our lending pipeline began to translate into business growth in the second quarter and we further strengthened that pipeline during the half. This performance enables us to pay an interim dividend for the first six months of 2021.”
“I’m pleased with the momentum generated around our growth and transformation plans, with good delivery against all four pillars of our strategy. In particular, we have taken firm steps to define the future of our US and continental Europe businesses, and further enhanced our global Wealth capabilities.”
HSBC reinstated its dividend payout following the economic recovery in two of its key markets, Britain and Hong Kong.
The bank will pay an interim dividend of $0.07 per share after the Bank of England gave a green light to do so last month.
HSBC cancelled an additional $300m of provisions made for bad debts during the pandemic in Q2. Over the course of the year, HSBC cancelled $700m of reserves. This means the total of its increase reserves now stands at $2.4bn.
The HSBC share price (LON:HSBA) is up by 1.57% during the morning session on Monday.
