Lloyds TSB has reported annual profit ahead of expectations and says strong earnings momentum continued in the second half of last year.
Pretax profit for 2004 fell 20 per cent to £3.49 billion from £4.35 billion in 2003, Britain's fifth-biggest bank said in a statement today.
Unlike other banks, Lloyds's headline pretax profit figure fell because the bank sold non-core businesses, including its New Zealand bank, which contributed £1.18 billion to pretax profit in 2003.
Analysts had forecast an average estimate of £3.38 billion, according to a Reuters poll.
Pretax profit from continuing operations rose 10 per cent to £3.36 billion as profit increased at all its businesses, the bank said.
Lloyds TSB is the last of the banks to report full-year profit amid concern a slowdown in consumer spending and house prices will cramp future growth. The bank recommended a total dividend of 34.2 pence a share, unchanged from 2003.
Lloyds TSB shares fell 0.5 per cent yesterday to 488.75 pence, valuing the bank at about £27.3 billion. The stock has outperformed the FTSE banks index by 4 per cent this year.