Global net profit down 69 pc to $3.1 bn
ABU DHABI: HSBC’s UAE operations reported $198 million loss before tax (LBT) for the first half ending June 30, 2020 compared with $204 profit before tax (PBT) the UAE entity made for the similar period last year.
HSBC said its global operations in the meantime reported a decline of 69 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) to $3.1 billion and 65 per cent in profit before tax (PBT) to $4.3 billion from higher expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges (ECL) and lower revenue.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has reported a loss before tax (LBT) of $26 million for the period under review against a profit before tax (PBT) of $1.736 billion for the same period last year.
Egypt remains the only major market from the region that generated profit (before tax) during both halves. While the PBT for the first half ending 2019 was to the tune of $205 million, PBT for the similar period during the current year dropped by a quarter to $155 million.
Saudi witnesses huge decline in PBT
In the case of Saudi Arabia deterioration in the bottom line was much more pronounced as its profit before tax of $1.063 billion turned into a loss before tax of $13 million. The whole of $1.063 billion has come from the corporate centre operations of Saudi HSBC.
Noel Quinn, Group Chief Executive of HSBC Holdings, said the bank’s first half performance was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, falling interest rates, increased geopolitical risk and heightened levels of market volatility.
“Despite this, our Asia franchise showed resilience, and our Global Markets business delivered strong growth compared with last year’s first half,” Quinn added.
India improves
India operations saw a growth of 9.6 per cent in profit before tax during the first half of current year as it improved from $512 million to $561 million year on year.
“Having paused parts of our transformation programme in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, we now intend to accelerate implementation of the plans we announced in February. We are also looking at what additional actions we need to take in light of the new economic environment to make HSBC a stronger and more sustainable business,” HSBC chief added further.
