Lloyds trims 2009 loss

26th Feb 2010 07:02

Lloyds Banking joined sector peers Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland in reporting better than expected full-year figures.The part-nationalised lender reported a pre-tax loss of £6.3bn in the year ended 31 December compared with £6.71bn last time. Total income rose to £23.96bn from £21.36bn last time.Investment analysts were expecting Lloyds to announce a pre-tax loss of £7.4bn on revenue of £22.6bn. However, total impairments were significantly higher at £23.99bn compared with £14.88bn in 2008, but the figure was still slightly better than the £24.2bn Japanese broker Nomura expected.Second half impairments were 21% lower than in the first half and Lloyds said it expects to see a similar pace of half yearly improvement throughout 2010, with further substantial reductions in 2011 and beyond.Lloyds said it expects a 'significant improvement' in the performance of its continuing businesses in 2010. It targets high single-digit income growth within two years. '2009 was a year of significant achievement in shaping the group,' said chief executive Eric Daniels. 'We have established positive trends in margin, cost and impairments and are well positioned. We are building strong earnings momentum and expect our performance to improve significantly in 2010 and beyond.'Daniels is also cautiously optimistic about the economy. 'Our view is that the risk of a severe further downturn in 2010 is lower than a few months ago and we continue to forecast growth in GDP of 1.8% for 2010, with a similar trend in 2011,' he said.Earlier this week, Daniels bowed to public pressure and waived his right to a bonus for the second year in succession. The head of rival RBS also rejected a £1.6m reward. Yesterday, RBS said it saw its net attributable loss narrow markedly in 2009 with fourth quarter impairments 5% lower than the third quarter. Barclays reported a 'strong' set of results last week. The group's profit before tax exceeded market expectations at £11.64bn, up from £6.08bn in 2008, helped by a £6.33bn profit on the disposal of Barclays Global Investors.