HSBC Holdings Plc’s senior executives reassured shareholders that the lender remains focused on paying dividends at an investor meeting in Hong Kong.
At an annual shareholders meeting on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, Chairman Mark Tucker and Noel Quinn, the bank’s chief executive officer, both emphasized their commitment to payouts in their speeches.
“We understand how important the dividend is to you, that many of you and your families value it and rely on it,” Quinn said via video link to the gathering.
Tucker said he remains “very focused” on rewarding shareholders.
The sparsely attended meeting was in sharp contrast to two years ago, when disgruntled shareholders grilled executives after dividends were cut in the middle of the pandemic and demanded it relocate its headquarters back to the city.
Since then, the UK lender has been selling businesses outside of Asia — recently concluding the sale of its Canadian business to Royal Bank of Canada and boosting payouts.
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HSBC has said it is plans to announce a US$0.21 per share special dividend from the sale together with its first quarter results, something Tucker reiterated. Dividends have also exceeded pre-Covid levels. The lender paid out a total dividend of US$0.61 per share for 2023, the highest payout since 2008.
HSBC reported fourth-quarter profit fell 80% after taking unexpected charges on holdings in a Chinese bank and from selling its French retail operations. However, rising interest rates globally boosted HSBC’s full-year earnings to a record.
The bank’s shares are down 2.5% this year in Hong Kong. They gained 29.8% last year.
