Shares in Standard Chartered surged over four per cent on Friday morning following the release of its full-year results. The multinational bank announced a revamp of executive pay after missing analysts' profit predictions for the final quarter.
Pre-tax profit dropped 30 per cent to $800m (£631m) for the fourth quarter, falling short of the estimated $983m that analysts predicted the FTSE 100 lender would make in the year's closing months, as reported by .
Adjusted for restructuring and additional costs, the bank's underlying pre-tax profits came in at $1bn, aligning with analyst consensus.
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The bank's annual profits saw an 18 per cent increase to $6bn, up from the $5bn reported in 2023. A $1.5bn share buyback was unveiled in the final results, along with a proposed final dividend of 28 cents per share.
This takes the bank's total shareholder distributions to $4.9bn, with plans outlined to return $8bn to shareholders.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, commented: "You wouldn't normally expect a profit miss to get a positive reception but investors have been prepared to look past this at Standard Chartered and concentrate instead on a big increase in the dividend, a bumper buyback and a meaningful improvement in underlying performance."
He added: "Standard Chartered is a very different animal from most of it's 海角视频-listing banking peers, operating exclusively in much less mature markets in Africa and Asia."
Mould highlighted that this approach provides the bank with "plenty of growth to go after, something which is particularly evident right now in its Asian wealth management arm."
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Meanwhile, Will Howlett, a financials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, commented: "Standard Chartered's results for 2024 are somewhat mixed due to several one-off items, including a software write-off, a restructuring charge and a reclassification related to deposit insurance. However, we see strength in the key areas."
He further added: "Our positive view on Standard Chartered reflects its strong loan growth potential from its Asian footprint, where GDP growth rates are structurally higher. Net interest income is also supported by the 'higher for longer' interest rate narrative. Profitability has been improving, with the bank targeting a return on tangible equity of 10 per cent this year, increasing steadily to 12 per cent in 2026."
In relation to executive pay packages, Standard Chartered announced amidst the results that it would alter chief executive Bill Winters' remuneration package by cutting his salary by 40 per cent and offering higher potential bonuses.
This overhaul could potentially increase his total pay package to as high as $13.1m for 2025.
However, Winters' annual salary will be reduced by 40 per cent to $1.5m.
This move by Standard Chartered mirrors the actions of many of Britain's largest lenders, such as HSBC, which initiated similar changes following the removal of the bonus cap for bankers last year.
Under the new pay structure, if Winters meets all performance targets, his remuneration could potentially double from the amount received in 2022.
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The bank's employees saw a seven per cent increase to their 2024 bonuses, bringing the total figure to $1.7bn.
The London-based bank stated that the removal of the cap on bonuses provided an opportunity to "develop a new approach for executive directors and the applicable wider workforce."
Reflecting on the results, Winters commented: "We produced a strong set of results in 2024."
He added: "Our strategy of combining different cross-border capabilities for corporate and institutional clients with leading wealth management expertise for affluent clients is firing on all cylinders, driving an increase in return on tangible equity to 11.7 per cent."