Lloyds Banking Group Posts 2014 Profit, Plans To Resume Dividend

posted a profit for 2014 and announced its plans to resume dividend. The company's board recommended a dividend of 0.75 pence per share for 2014. Lloyds posted a net profit of GBP1.13 billion ($1.74 billion) for the year, versus a year-ago loss of GBP838 million. The bank's total income, excluding insurance claims, was GBP18.37 billion, while underlying profit climbed to GBP7.8 billion from GBP6.2 billion. "Over the last four years we have transformed Lloyds Banking Group into a low cost, low risk, UK focused retail and commercial bank. This has been made possible by the hard work of everyone at the Group, António Horta-Osório, Group Chief Executive said. "Today's results also demonstrate that our profitability and capital position have improved significantly, and this has enabled the Board, for the first time in over six years, to recommend we pay a dividend to our shareholders." Lloyds shares rose 0.41% to $4.86 in pre-market trading.