Correct: Standard Chartered 2018 Net Profit Fell 20%

"Standard Chartered 2018 Net Profit Fell 20%, Missing Expectations," at 0527 GMT on Feb. 26, misstated that the bank would exit markets with low returns, such as India, Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia in the last paragraph. The bank said it would "eliminate the drag on our returns from several low-returning markets, including India, Korea, the UAE and Indonesia."

Standard Chartered also said it would focus on boosting returns on tangible equity to at least 10% by 2021 and intends to distribute to shareholders surplus capital that isn't deployed to fund additional growth. The article incorrectly said the bank would focus on boosting returns on equity by at least 10% by 2021 and generate cash that would be paid back to shareholders if not used for acquisitions.

In addition, the article incorrectly compared the bank's net profit to analysts' estimates for adjusted income in the headline and second paragraph.

The errors were repeated in the corrected article, "Correct: Standard Chartered 2018 Net Profit Fell 20%, Missing Expectations," at 0726 GMT. They were also repeated in WSJ City articles "Standard Chartered Profit Falls Short of Expectations," at 0922 GMT, 0930 GMT and 0939 GMT.

The correct version follows:

 
   By Kenan Machado 
 

HONG KONG--Standard Chartered PLC reported a 20% drop in net profit last year, as charges related to alleged failures to check for dealings with clients involving Iranian interests weighed on earnings.

The Asia-focused bank said Tuesday that net profit for the full year of 2018 was $618 million. Standard Chartered's pretax profit of $3.86 billion was up 28% from a year ago, but fell short of the $4 billion average forecast of analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Last week, the bank with operations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa said it would take a $900 million charge, related mainly to the U.S. investigation into alleged Iran-related sanctions violations.

At the statutory level, operating income rose 2.5% to $14.79 billion. Operating expenses edged higher to $10.46 billion. It also recommended a final dividend of 15 cents per ordinary share, up 36% from 11 cents in 2017.

Standard Chartered said it would focus on boosting returns on tangible equity to at least 10% by 2021 and intends to distribute to shareholders surplus capital that isn't deployed to fund additional growth. Among the measures it would take are to eliminate the drag on returns from low-returning markets, including India, Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

Write to Kenan Machado at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2019 01:42 ET (06:42 GMT)

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