Financial Results
UK's Lloyds Reports Stronger Underlying Profits, On Track To Reaching Full Private Ownership
The bank, in which the UK government has a 15 per cent stake, announced an interim dividend payment, stronger profits and said it was on course to return to full private ownership.
Lloyds Banking Group took a further step towards returning to full private ownership by announcing today that it is paying an interim dividend to shareholders.
The UK-listed bank, which along with Royal Bank of Scotland was bailed out by the government in the 2008 market crisis, reported an underlying profit of £4.383 billion ($6.84 billion) in the first six months of this year, a 15 per cent year-on-year gain; total income rose 2 per cent to £8.968 billion.
The bank did not specify results for private banking or wealth management in its figures today, as far as this publication was able to establish.
Impairment charges fell by 75 per cent to £179 million; asset quality ratio improved 21 basis points to 0.09 per cent, the bank said in its statement.
The bank said its statutory profit before tax had surged by 38 per cent to £1.193 billion (2014: £863 million).
"The improvement in our profitability and capital position has enabled the group to announce an interim dividend payment of 0.75 pence per share to our shareholders. We remain focused on our aim to become the best bank for customers and shareholders while at the same time supporting the UK economy,” António Horta-Osório, group chief executive, said in a statement.
The interim dividend of 0.75 pence per share amounts to £535 million.
Referring to the improved results, the CEO said: “This strategic progress, along with our strong financial performance, has enabled the UK government to make further substantial progress in returning the group to full private ownership. Following the announcement in December 2014 of a trading plan to carry out a measured and orderly sell down of shares, the government's holding is now less than 15 per cent, around a third of its original stake. Furthermore, the completion of the sale of our interest in TSB to Banco Sabadell represents the continued delivery of our commitment to the European Commission under the terms of the state aid agreement.”
