LONDON (Alliance News) - Lloyds Banking Group PLC on Friday reported a 12% fall in first-quarter pretax profit but said numbers were better on an underlying basis.
Pretax profit fell to GBP1.21 billion in the three months ended March 31, compared with GBP1.37 billion in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
Underlying profit, which strips out numerous costs and provisions, increased to GBP2.18 billion from GBP1.80 billion.
"I am confident that the successful delivery of our strategy through our simple, low risk, customer focused, UK retail and commercial banking business model will enable us to become the best bank for customers and deliver strong and sustainable returns for shareholders. It also remains our intention to pay an interim and a final dividend for 2015," Chief Executive António Horta-Osório said in a statement.
The group's gradual return to full private ownership had been given a boost when the bank resumed dividends at a token 0.75 pence per share for 2014, as its pretax profit jumped to GBP1.8 billion from GBP415 million.
The taxpayer's stake in the bank has come down to 20.95%, having been as high as 43% after a bailout in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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