Standard Chartered has 'strong start,' record profit

Standard Chartered Plc, the UK bank that gains almost all its profit from emerging markets, said it made a “strong start” to the year with record earnings and revenue in the first quarter.

The bank will post a pretax profit of $248 million in the second quarter from bonds it bought back or exchanged at a discount, the London-based company said on Tuesday in a statement.

“Despite the challenging macro-economic environment and the continuing difficulties in the financial markets, the group remains in very good shape and we are selectively growing the business,” the company said.

Unlike Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the bank hasn’t needed a government bailout as it gains more from deposits than it lends and has a smaller securities unit than some other British banks. Standard Chartered raised $1.8 billion in a rights offering in December to boost capital and protect against bad- loan provisions. The bank also hired banks to arrange an initial public offering in India, to raise as much as $1 billion.

Standard Chartered gained 13 per cent to 1,192 pence as of 10.25 am The stock gained 21 per cent this year through May 1, compared with a 2.8 per cent decline in the five-member FTSE 350 Banks Index.

Revenue growth was driven by the bank’s corporate unit, where it’s “significantly ahead” of last year, while consumer banking revenue was “slightly below” the level of the second half of last year, the company said. Mortgage profit margins improved in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and India, said the bank.

Standard Chartered may bid for RBS’s assets in Asia, valued between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, people familiar with the situation said in March.

Net income rose 8.3 per cent to $1.56 billion in the second- half of 2008, the bank said in March.