HSBC Reports $1.55bn In 2018 Middle East Profit

HSBC Holdings plc earned $1.55 billion in profit from the Middle East and North Africa in 2018, almost 8 percent of the $19.89 billion in profit it posted globally, the bank announced on Monday.

The Middle East figure represents a slight increase from the $1.5 billion in MENA profit reported in 2018, which constituted 8.7 percent of HSBC’s total net profit of $17.16 billion.

According financial results released by HSBC, Asia accounted for $17.79 billion in net profit, or 89.5 percent of the total.

Europe, in comparison, accounted for $815 million, compared to $799 million from North America and $559 million from Latin America.

The bank’s full-year tax profit of $19.89 billion – a 19 percent increase from the year before – is lower than the $20.9 billion average estimate of analysts compiled by the bank.

Reported revenue for the year increased 5 percent to $53.8 billion, compared with the average estimate of $54.6 billion.

Despite falling short of estimates, group chief executive John Flint said that the “good results” he had previously outlined in June 2018, just four months after he succeeded former CEO Stuart Gulliver.

“Profit and revenue were both up despite a challenging fourth quarter, and our return on tangible equity is significantly higher than in 2017,” he said in a statement.

“This is an encouraging step towards meeting our return on tangible equity target of more than 11 percent by 2020.”