HSBC’s profit dips to $12.7b in Q1; special dividend after Canada sale

A first interim dividend of $0.1 per share has been approved by the board.

HSBC is off to a productive start in 2024 with the sale of two business units in the Americas although profits fell slightly.

Profit before tax dipped by about $200m to $12.7b in Q1, its latest financial results showed. The profits already include a $4.8b gain following the completion of the sale of its Canadian banking business.

This was partially offset by a $1.1b impairment from HSBC’s upcoming sale of its Argentina business.

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A first interim dividend of $0.1 per share has been approved by the board, and an additional special dividend of $0.21 per share will be given out following the completion of the same of HSBC’s Canadian business.

Revenue was 3% higher at $20.8b, reflecting higher customer activity in HSBC’s wealth products and in equities and securities financing under its Global Banking and Markets (GBM) business. This was mitigated by a reduction in foreign exchange revenue.

Net interest income (NII) fell by $0.3b to $8.7b due to deposit migration.

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Non-interest income rose by $0.9b, thanks to a $1.3b rise in trading income mainly in the GBM business.

Fee income is higher by 5%.