Standard Chartered PLC announced a record first half operating profit before tax of $3.12 billion, demonstrating the ability of the business to deliver consistent and sustained performance. The Bank has continued to improve its capital and liquidity ratios, and delivered ten per cent growth in both earnings per share and dividend per share.
The Bank maintained strong income momentum with the Group income climbing ten per cent against the second half of 2009. Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered said, "These results demonstrate once again our commitment to delivering consistent and sustained performance. This is not a bounce back, a sharp recovery in profits; it is simply another set of record results, continuing a trajectory that now extends over more than seven years.
Both our businesses enter the second half with good momentum, but we remain extremely watchful about the global outlook and are managing the business very dynamically. We are investing now in order to grasp the huge long-term opportunities across our markets. The Bank is in great shape, has good momentum, and is superbly positioned for the future."
Momentum remains strong in both businesses. As the East rebounds from the crisis, with very strong growth in many of our markets, we saw this reflected in our business and transaction volumes. We continue to take market share from competitors in a number of key products, including mortgages, deposits, corporate finance, trade finance and cash management.
As the economic environment has improved, the Bank has taken a deliberate step to increase investment to take advantage of the prospects for long-term growth in our markets. Expenses rose eight per cent on the first half of last year as we hired staff and invested in branches, infrastructure projects and in building product capability.-PR