HSBC Holdings plc reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2024, showing a profit before tax increase to $8.5 billion, up by $0.8 billion compared to the same period last year. This growth was attributed mainly to revenue increases in Wealth and Personal Banking as well as in Global Banking and Markets.
Georges Elhedery, Group Chief Executive, stated: "We delivered another good quarter, which shows that our strategy is working. There was strong revenue growth and good performances in Wealth and Wholesale Transaction Banking."
The company announced a further $4.8 billion in distributions for the third quarter, bringing total distributions for 2024 to $18.4 billion.
Revenue rose by 5% to $17.0 billion compared with the previous year’s third quarter, driven by higher customer activity in wealth products and global markets sectors. However, net interest income fell by $1.6 billion due to business disposals and increased interest expenses.
Operating expenses increased slightly by 2% to $8.1 billion due to investments in technology and inflation impacts but were partially offset by cost discipline measures.
Customer lending balances saw an increase of $30 billion from the second quarter of 2024, while customer accounts grew by $67 billion over the same period.
HSBC's common equity tier 1 capital ratio improved slightly to 15.2%, supported by capital generation despite share buy-backs and rising risk-weighted assets.
For the first nine months of 2024, profit before tax rose by $0.7 billion to reach $30.0 billion compared with the same period last year.
Elhedery emphasized commitment towards growth: "I’m committed to building on this strong platform for growth... We will begin to implement these plans immediately."
The Board approved a third interim dividend of $0.10 per share following a completed share buy-back program worth $3 billion announced earlier this year.
Looking ahead, HSBC maintains its guidance set out during its interim results in July 2024 while targeting a mid-teens return on average tangible equity for both 2024 and 2025.