It was a rare miss for investors who had gotten used to Gulliver beating profit estimates, at least in the latter part of his tenure. The outgoing CEO delivered higher-than-forecast adjusted net income in six of the previous seven quarters, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. HSBC shares were down 2.2% in afternoon Hong Kong trading after the results announcement.
HONG KONG/LONDON (Feb 20): Stuart Gulliver’s seven-year reign as HSBC Holdings Plc’s chief executive officer ended with a rare failure to live up to analysts’ earnings estimates as lending margins narrowed and the bank booked loan charges related to two clients.
Adjusted fourth-quarter pretax profit of US$3.6 billion ($4.7 billion) missed the lowest estimate among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. HSBC on Tuesday highlighted an US$188 million increase in loan impairment charges for the period, “mainly driven” by two corporate borrowers.
