CICC: Standard Chartered Group's second quarter performance slightly exceeds expectations, rated neutral.

On July 31, Jinshi Data reported that Standard Chartered Group (02888.HK) had a second-quarter revenue of 4.806 billion US dollars after adjusting the caliber, which was 0.1% and 0.6% higher than the bank’s and market expectations, and a rise of 5.5% year-on-year; pre-tax profit of 1.828 billion US dollars, which was 4.8% and 11.7% higher than the bank’s and market expectations, and a rise of 14.3% year-on-year. The report pointed out that Standard Chartered’s second-quarter loan rise did not meet the bank’s and market expectations, and the demand for loans in a high-interest rate environment was still weak. Non-interest income was slightly lower than the bank’s and market expectations, while the financial market and wealth management, the two major engines, continued to perform well. Jinshi pointed out that although Standard Chartered’s pre-tax profit after adjusting the caliber was better than expected, after adjusting the caliber, this quarter generated a forex reserve loss of 174 million US dollars related to the sale of Zimbabwean business, and Jinshi raised its forecast for Fitforgrowth expenditure in 2024, thus downgrading the full-year profit forecast by 4.5% to 3.827 billion US dollars, roughly maintaining the profit forecast for next year, and maintaining a neutral rating with an unchanged target price of 82.8 Hong Kong dollars.