Standard Chartered share price subdued as investors digest results and strategy update

Shares in Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) have fallen into negative territory as the Asia-focused lender updated investors on its full-year performance and unveiled plans to deliver a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of at least 10 percent by 2021. StanChart’s results come after the company booked a $900-million charge last week to cover potential penalties on both sides of the Atlantic.

As of 08:31 GMT, Standard Chartered’s share price had lost 0.81 percent to 613.90p. The stock is marginally underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.71 percent lower at 7,132.66 points.

StanChart posts FY results

StanChart announced in a statement this morning that its operating income had climbed five percent to $15 billion last year, with risk-weighted assets down by eight percent. The group’s underlying profit before tax rose 28 percent to $3.9 billion. Statutory profit  before tax came in at $2.5 billion, or six percent higher, after the Asia-focused lender booked a $900-million charge.

“We have made tremendous progress securing the foundations of the business since 2015, resulting in a third successive year of underlying profit growth,” StanChart’s chief executive Bill Winters commented in the statement, adding that group’s “refreshed priorities announced today will help realise the true value of the franchise”.

Strategy update

The Asia-focused lender separately announced its priorities for the 2019-2021 period, saying that it would target RoTE of at least 10 percent by 2021, “and generate significant surplus capital that is intended to be distributed to shareholders if not deployed to fund additional growth”. StanChart will also target income growth of between five and seven percent, and gross aggregate cost reduction of $700 million, creating capacity for investment.

As of 09:17 GMT, Tuesday, 26 February, Standard Chartered PLC share price is 615.40p.