Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced profits of £1.6bn for the first quarter of 2014, far surpassing expectations and sending shares soaring more than 10%.
For the three months to 31 March, the firm near doubled its profit before tax from £826m in the first quarter of 2013. Operating profit also doubled to £1.5bn, up from £747m last year.
This is only the sixth time that the firm has announced a profitable quarter following its government takeover in 2008.
The results were better than analysts had expected. They had forecast pre-tax profits of £300m and operating profits of £800m.
In reaction, shares jumped over 10% initially to over 336p.
Shore Capital - which rates shares as a hold - said the bank had seen better revenues than expected, and lower impairments.
RBS chief executive Ross McEwan said the results showed the firm was in a steady state and he was in the process of making the firm the UK's most trusted bank.
However, he said 2014 would be a tough year due to costs of restructuring the business and expected regulatory fines.
