Among the top news from UK stocks, Standard Chartered PLC (GB:STAN) jumped over 7% following the release of its 2023 annual results. The highlight of the results was a $1 billion buyback, reflecting its commitment to returning additional funds to shareholders.
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Based in the UK, STAN engages in the provision of banking and financial services.
Insights from the Results
The bank’s statutory pre-tax profits for the last quarter of 2023 increased to $1.1 billion, aligning with analysts’ forecasts. For the full year, this profit grew by 19% to $5.1 billion. Moreover, it recorded a 27% year-over-year rise in underlying pre-tax profits, reaching $5.7 billion in 2023.
The performance was mainly driven by its net interest margin, which reached 1.67%, benefiting from higher rates. The bank’s underlying net interest income surged by 20% to $9.56 billion for the year. The bottom line was also well supported by reduced impairments and a gain from the sale of the bank’s global aviation finance leasing business. Moving forward, the bank will continue to focus on China and is optimistic about its long-term potential.
What Is the Outlook for Standard Chartered Share Price?
At the time of writing, the stock is leading the FTSE 100 risers list. The bank’s CEO, Bill Winters, expressed confidence in the numbers and emphasized that the current share price is largely influenced by negative sentiments, failing to reflect its genuine value. In the last 12 months, the stock has lost almost 14% of its value. In terms of share price appreciation, STAN stock has received a Moderate Buy rating from analysts on TipRanks. The projected target for the Standard Chartered share price stands at 847.33p, indicating a potential increase of 30% from its current level.
