Standard Chartered says earnings 'not yet acceptable' as it declares third quarter results

Standard Chartered has reported an operating income of $3.47bn (£2.83bn) for the third quarter ended 30 September. The British bank revealed the same in its interim management statement published on Tuesday (1 November).

The London-based firm said that its income indicated a stable trend as it had achieved the same numbers in the previous quarter ending 30 June. However, this income was marginally lower than the $3.68bn it had achieved during the same period last year.

On the other hand, underlying profit before tax came in at $458m. While this was almost the same when compared to the previous quarter, it marked a contrast improvement when compared to the $139m loss the bank had reported in the corresponding period in 2015.

However, statutory profit before tax was reported at $153m. This was lower than the second quarter's $304m. It was also lower than the $430m reported in the third quarter of 2015.

Commenting on the results, Group CEO Bill Winters said in a statement, "We have made progress executing the strategic actions announced a year ago. We now have a stronger balance sheet, reduced concentrations and are becoming more efficient, but income and profit levels are not yet acceptable. Putting our clients' needs back at the heart of everything will improve our performance."

Other highlights of the report included its other operating expenses that came in at $2.1bn. This was similar to the run-rate seen in the year to 30 June.

Geographically, the bank said it had achieved higher income in Greater China and North Asia. This, it said was driven by a better performance in Hong Kong. In Asean and South Asian regions, the bank said its performance was flat. This, it said helped offset the lower income generated in Africa and Middle East and Europe and Americas.

Business-segment wise, the British bank saw the highest income generation in its retail banking. Here, income came in at $1.19bn for the period. Its corporate and institutional banking segment was the second highest income generating business. The segment witnessed an income of $1.6bn in the third quarter. Other segments such as commercial banking and private banking, made up for the rest of the income.

With regards to future outlook, the bank said that while it delivered a stable performance in the third quarter, it expected challenging market conditions going forward.