The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc investors will be looking for indications that the bank will follow through on its plan to return more capital when it announces fourth-quarter results this week, after a $2.5 billion stock buyback and a slumping pound lifted shares in 2016.
The stock has surged 56 percent since the Brexit vote on June 23, the most of any major European bank, rising to 707.5 pence, the highest since September 2013. Investors will also be focused on whether the bank can boost revenue faster than costs for a second straight quarter, and whether HSBC will follow U.S. rivals in posting a sharp uptick in fixed-income trading revenue.
“Key issues on results day are likely to be on management commentary on the outlook and sensitivity of interest rates, as well as questions on the potential for further dividends and buybacks,†David Lock, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG with a hold rating on the company, wrote in a Feb. 16 report, saying he expected the bank to repurchase another $2.5 billion of stock in 2017.
One area where investors are unlikely to receive clarity is the naming of a successor to Chairman Douglas Flint, 61, who along with Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver, 57, are the longest-serving duo at a major European bank. HSBC said in March it will nominate a replacement for Flint in 2017, but the board is not preparing an announcement alongside the full-year results on Feb. 21, according to three people with knowledge of the plans, who asked not to be identified because the succession process is confidential.