The bank’s pre-tax profits missed analyst expectations, falling 4% from $5bn in Q1 2017 to $4.8bn (£3.5bn) this quarter.
Analysts predicted HSBC would report a pre-tax profit of $5.7bn.
The bank said the fall was down to a 13% rise in operating expenses to $9.4bn, up from $8.3bn during the same period last year.
However, HSBC’s revenue was also up 6% year-on-year from $12.9bn to $13.7bn.
HSBC’s shares opened 1.7% lower at 709p and continued falling during Friday morning until they were trading at 700p.
Its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange took an even bigger hit and were down 3.5% at 75 HKD by the time of writing.
The hit to its bottom line overshadowed the bank’s big announcement of a $2bn share buyback programme, which it expects to commence shortly.
However, new chief executive John Flint said that after having considered the bank’s growth opportunities, this would likely be the only share buyback this year.
Flint, reporting his first set of results since taking over for Stuart Gulliver, said the bank’s top priority was growing the businesses safely and promised the bank’s next annual results would deliver stronger figures.
He said: “Our global businesses performed well in the first quarter, maintaining momentum from the end of 2017. We continue to benefit from interest rate rises and economic growth, particularly in Asia.
“Our primary focus is to grow the businesses safely, and we have increased investment to deliver that aim. We intend to deliver positive jaws for 2018.”
Funds with the highest allocation to HSBC
| Fund | Weighting |
| JPM Hong Kong | 9.30% |
| M&G Recovery | 8.00% |
| Marks & Spencer UK 100 Companies | 7.63% |
| iShares 100 UK Equity Index | 7.34% |
| Santander – Stockmarket 100 Tracker Growth | 7.21% |
| Vanguard – FTSE 100 Index | 7.10% |
| Liontrust – FTSE 100 Tracker | 7.05% |
| R&M – UK Equity High Alpha | 6.80% |
Source: FE Analytics
