Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) shares jumped almost 5% to top the FTSE 100 on Tuesday morning after the Asia-focused bank's second-quarter profit beat forecasts, it raised full year guidance and hiked its shareholder returns.
The lender announced its largest ever share buyback of $1.5 billion, which was 50% larger than analysts expected, while the lender also proposed a 50% hike to its interim dividend to 9 US cents per share, costing it $230 million.
Reported profit before tax came in at $1.6 billion, up 4%, while underlying profit before tax rose 15% at constant currency rates to $1.8 billion. Reported PBT was a 2% beat to the City analyst consensus.
Operating income swelled 6% to $4.8 billion, as net interest income grew 6% at constant currencies,
The Wealth Solutions arm grew 27%, Global Banking was up 11% and Global Markets down 7%.
Chief executive Bill Winters said: "We produced a strong set of results for the first half of the year, demonstrating the value of our franchise as a cross-border corporate and investment bank and a leading wealth manager for affluent clients."
He said profit was helped by "continued discipline in managing our expenses".
Winters and the board upgraded guidance for income growth, which is now expected to be above 7% for the year.