By Kelvin Soh and Steve Slater
HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered Plc
The London-based bank which generates more than four-fifths of its profit in Asia and other emerging markets, said it had its best ever January and expects revenue to grow by at least 10 percent this year and beyond.
It made a pretax profit of $6.12 billion last year, a new high for the eighth year in a row and in line with analysts' forecasts but warned that banking regulations were becoming more fragmented than coordinated and it was "relatively cautious" on the outlook for the world economy, which remains vulnerable to shocks.
"The bank is very well positioned, and while we won't see the kind of jump we saw last year, it's still going to be fairly good growth," said Daniel Tabbush, analyst at CLSA in Bangkok.
"We're very comfortable with their exposure to both the emerging markets and the developed markets for origination and connectivity."
Chief Executive Peter Sands said in a statement the bank started the year with good momentum and volume growth, backed up by a strong balance sheet.
Costs rose 13 percent last year, outpacing a 6 percent rise in income, as the bank fights to hire and retain staff in its hot Asian markets and invested more after slowing spending in 2009. Costs rose to 55.9 percent of revenue from 51.3 percent.
It said its bonus pool costs for staff "increased modestly" to $1.19 billion from $1.1 billion and it added about 7,000 staff in 2010, or a 9 percent rise to 85,000.
It said it plans to keep cost growth at the same rate as income growth this year after the step up in spending in 2010.
Rival HSBC Holdings Plc
BOOMING TRADE
Standard Chartered's history of financing trade between Europe, Asia and Africa dates back to 1853 and its wholesale business, which includes investment banking and trade finance operations, remains its key driver.
India surpassed Hong Kong as its top profit contributor last year with earnings of $1.2 billion.
Wholesale operating profit of $4.5 billion in 2010 was up 17 percent from 2009. Consumer banking operating profit rose 51 percent to $1.3 billion, the bank said.
Operating expenses at its wholesale business rose 16 percent as the bank paid top dollar to snag several high-profile hires as its aggressively expands in the fast-growing emerging markets segments of Asia and Africa, where it has a history of financing trade between those two continents and Europe.
The bank's second-half net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders rose 52 percent.
Its Hong Kong-listed shares rose 12 percent in 2010, outpacing the benchmark Hang Seng Index's <.HSI> 5.3 percent advance.
(Editing by Chris Lewis and Greg Mahlich)
