Standard Chartered 1Q Earnings Jump as Bad Loans Decline

Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) said its restructuring strategy is paying off, raising expectations the beleaguered bank will start paying dividends again soon.

The Asia-focused bank said first-quarter profit before tax was $990 million, almost double the $500 million the bank made in the first quarter of 2016, mainly because of a sharp drop in bad loans. Revenue rose 8% to $3.6 billion, helping send the bank's shares up 3.9% after the announcement.

Standard Chartered is repositioning its business after overexpansion in the 2000s gave way to rising bad loans and a struggle to keep up with rising regulatory demands. Chief Executive Bill Winters took over in June 2015 and has been shedding assets and business units.

Wednesday, he said the bank is making good progress getting back on track, despite seeing intense competition in its markets.

The bank's shares, often treated by investors as a proxy for emerging markets and commodities, surged 23% in the first six weeks of the year before settling back when oil prices fell in March.

Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2017 05:14 ET (09:14 GMT)