HSBC: quarterly profit drops on higher operating expenses

(CercleFinance.com) - HSBC on Friday said that its revenue rose by 6% in the first quarter, driven by interest rate increases and economic growth in Asia, although its pre-tax profit fell by 4% over the period due to higher operating expenses.


Reported pre-tax profit came in at 4.8 billion dollars for the first three months of 2018, down from 5 billion dollars in the same quarter a year ago, as operating expenses jumped by 13% on the back of investments in digital and currency moves.

"Our primary focus is to grow the businesses safely, and we have increased investment to deliver that aim," CEO John Flint commented.

"We intend to deliver positive jaws for 2018," he added.

HSBC also said that it intended to initiate a share buy-back of up to 2 billion dollars, which it expects to begin "shortly."

However, the news failed to boost the HSBC share in London this morning, with the stock falling 2.1% to 706.3 pence in early trading.

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