Lloyds Banking Group Reports Q2 2023 Profit Below Expectations, Upgrades Guidance

By Elena Vardon

Lloyds Banking Group has announced its pretax profit for the second quarter of 2023, falling below expectations. However, the British bank has revised some of its guidance for the year, indicating an optimistic outlook.

For the period ending June 30, Lloyds reported a pretax profit of £1.61 billion ($2.08 billion), compared to a restated £1.54 billion in the same period last year, and below the company-compiled consensus of £1.72 billion.

The group's net income experienced an increase to £4.53 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of £4.51 billion, from a restated figure of £4.03 billion in the previous year. Additionally, Lloyds' banking net interest margin for the quarter was recorded at 3.14%, surpassing the estimated figure of 3.10%.

In terms of guidance, Lloyds raised its banking net interest margin forecast for the year from 3.05% to 3.10%, albeit lower than the consensus of 3.12% for 2023. Furthermore, the bank now anticipates a return on tangible equity greater than 14%, up from approximately 13%, while consensus forecasts a figure of 14.5%.

Maintaining market expectations, Lloyds concluded the period with a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 14.2%, which serves as a significant measure of balance-sheet strength.

The board has proposed an interim dividend of 0.92 pence, in line with expectations and an increase from last year's 0.80 pence.

Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal.