India, April 30 -- British lending major HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L,HSBC) reported that its first-quarter profit before tax dropped to $12.65 billion from last year's $12.89 billion.
Profit after tax was $10.84 billion, compared to $11.03 billion a year ago.
However, earnings per share grew to $0.54 from last year's $0.52 on lower share count.
The latest results included a $4.8 billion gain following the completion of the disposal of banking business in Canada, partly offset by a $1.1 billion impairment following the classification of business in Argentina as held for sale.
The reduction in profit before tax also reflected the nonrecurrence of a $2.1 billion reversal last year of an impairment relating to the sale of retail banking opera...