Lloyds sees profits rise on strong performance

Lloyds Banking Group has unveiled a hefty rise in third quarter profits as the once state backed lender hailed a "strong financial performance".

The company saw pre-tax profits more than double to £1.95 billion in the three months to September 30.

The figure compares to £811 million in the same period last year, when Lloyds was hit by payment protection insurance (PPI) provisions.

Underlying profit for the period nudged up from £1.9 billion to £2 billion.

Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said: "In the first nine months of the year we have delivered strong financial performance with increased underlying and statutory profit, a significant improvement in returns and strong capital generation.

"These results highlight the strength of our customer focused, simple and low risk business model and the benefits of our competitive advantage in the UK."

The results build on a strong run of form for Lloyds, which was fully returned to private hands in May, nearly nine years after the Government bailed it out at the height of the financial crisis.

At the peak, Lloyds was 43% owned by the state after its bailout during the banking crisis after taxpayers were forced to inject £20.3 billion into rescuing the bank.

The group has been dogged by PPI claims, having paid out over £18 billion to date to affected customers.

However, Lloyds took no additional charges in the quarter.