[ET Net News Agency, 19 February 2021] HSBC Holdings (00005) will report FY2020 results
on 23 February. Citi Research forecasted underlying FY2020 PBT (ex-restructuring,
impairments) of US$11.3bn (down 49%). Its 4Q 2020 underlying PBT of US$1.8bn (-58% YoY,
-52% QoQ) is largely dragged down by lower revenues (-17% YoY, -6% QoQ), despite
marginally lower costs (-4% YoY, +18% QoQ) and normalizing credit costs (4Q: 49bps).
The research house expects HSBC to likely restart dividends at a conservative level
(estimated at 15c) dependent on the economic and regulatory environment. Citi maintained
its "neutral" call on HSBC, with a target price of HK$43.5. (KL)