Lloyds Banking Group reported a full-year net profit of £2.8bn as a goodwill gain helped offset soaring impairment charges.

The bailed-out bank made a pre-tax loss of £6.3bn, however, worse than analysts’ consensus forecast of £6.1bn.

For the year ending 31 December, the pre-tax loss narrowed from £6.7bn in 2008 before Lloyds TSB took over Halifax/Bank of Scotland in January 2009. All the comparisons assume that the businesses were combined in 2008.

Total impairments, largely inherited from HBOS, rose from £14.9bn to £24bn.

“We believe the Group’s overall impairment charge has now peaked, with a significant reduction expected in 2010,” said Group Finance director, Tim Tookey.

Total income, net of insurance claims, rose 12 per cent to £24bn.

The bank booked a goodwill credit of £11.1bn pounds related to the acquisition of HBOS, because the fair value of the assets was greater than the amount paid.

Following the HBOS acquisition, Lloyds was bailed out by government, which now holds a 41 per cent stake. Last year, Lloyds also raised £13.5bn in Britain’s largest-ever rights issue.

“The substance and outlook should delight the market,” said Ian Gordon, analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. He noted improvements in margins and synergies, and the bank’s claim that impairments had peaked.

Danny Clarke, analyst at Shore Capital, said Lloyds had turned in a good set of results, but “we believe better value and growth opportunities lie elsewhere in the sector”.

The bank said the higher impairment charges mainly reflected falling values in commercial property, where HBOS was heavily exposed.

Impairments in the retail division rose 14 per cent to £4.2bn, which the bank attributed in particular to rising unemployment during Britain’s deep and prolonged recession.

“The deterioration in the UK economic environment, particularly in the first half of 2009, created an extremely challenging operating background against which to integrate two large banking organisations,” Tookey said.

“Based on our current economic outlook, we expect to deliver a significantly improving combined businesses financial performance in 2010, with strong medium-term prospects thereafter,” he added.

Lloyds is the third of Britain’s major banks to report 2009 earnings.

Barclays, which avoided a government bailout, reported its net profit down 29 per cent at £2.73bn.

Royal Bank of Scotland, 84 per cent owned by government, said that it had a net loss of £3.6bn, a better-than-expected result a year after racking up the biggest loss in UK corporate history a year earlier.

Lloyds chief executive, Eric Daniels, waived his bonus entitlement for the year, as had Barclays CEO, John Varley, and RBS CEO, Stephen Hester.