HSBC reports pre-tax profit of £16.9bn for the first half of 2023

HSBC’s revenue also increased by 12.3 billion US dollars (£9.6bn) to 36.9 billion US dollars (£28.8bn), with the company highlighting interest rate rises as a driving factor in the result.

Noel Quinn, HSBC’s group chief executive, said in a statement: “We have delivered a strong first-half performance and are confident of achieving our revised mid-teens return on tangible equity target in 2023 and 2024.

“There was good broad-based profit generation around the world, higher revenue in our global businesses driven by strong net interest income, and continued tight cost control.

“I am also pleased that we can reward our shareholders with a second interim dividend of 0.10 US dollars per share and a second share buy-back in 2023 of up to 2 billion US dollars, with substantial further distribution capacity still expected ahead.

“There is still much work to do, especially given the many challenges in the global economy, but I am confident about the future as we move further into the next phase of our strategy and focus on opportunities to drive value creation, diversify our revenue and retain tight cost control.”

In its interim results statement, the group said it has raised its “2023 full-year guidance for net interest income to above 35 billion US dollars” (£27.3bn) in the wake of “current market consensus for global central bank rates”. HSBC’s quarterly results included pre-tax profits of 8.8 billion US dollars (£6.9 billion) and 16.7 billion US dollars (£13.3 billion) in revenue.