Sale of taxpayers' Lloyds stake moves closer as shares nudge 'break-even' Shares in Lloyds rose above 60p for the first time in more than 12 months, trading as high as 60.4p, just 0.8p below the taxpayer's minimum sale price of 61.2p after the bank confirmed it was likely to make a full-year profit in 2013. The state holds a 39pc stake in Lloyds following the lender's £25bn bailout in 2008, but yesterday's share price rise raises the prospect of a potential disposal of some of the holding in the near future. Sir Bischoff, 72, who announced his retirement as Lloyds chairman this week, described the surge in the bank's share price as "very pleasing." "It's a reflection of the huge progress this business has made in the last year," said Sir Win, who announced he will step down as chairman by next May at the latest. The rise in the shares followed confirmation by Antonio Horta-Osorio, chief executive of Lloyds, that the bank would make its first full-year profit since 2010. "We expect this [the restructuring the bank] to enable us to return to profitability this year and to grow our core business, to realise our full potential to deliver strong stable and sustainable returns for you, the shareholders, and to allow UK taxpayers" investment in the Group to be repaid," said Mr Horta-Osorio. Mr Horta-Osorio's own annual bonus is linked to selling a third of this holding at an average price of more than 61.2p by 2018. An additional condition would allow him to receive the award if the bank's share price exceeds 73.6p, the average price at which the taxpayer bought Lloyds shares at the time of its 2008 bailout, by the same date. The bank's surging share price has seen its stock rise from as little as 24.75p last May. Lloyds shares were the best performer on the FTSE 100 in 2012, rising more than 80pc. Last month, Lloyds reported a pre-tax statutory profit for the first three months of the year of £2.04bn, a sevenfold increase year-on-year and compared to a profit for the final quarter of last year of just £1m. The increase in profits has come as provisions against the cost of compensating customers mis-sold financial products have levelled out. Lloyds has so far put aside nearly £7bn to pay redress on payment protection insurance and the sales of interest rate hedging products to smaller businesses. The increased likelihood of a Lloyds share sale came a day after David Cameron dropped the strongest hint yet that the state could sell some of its 81pc stake in Royal Bank of Scotland at a loss. Asked in New York about the potential for the sale of RBS shares, the Prime Minister said he was open to "all ideas and proposals" that would allow people to buy shares in the bank in a "genuine way." The comments were taken to suggest the government could sell at least some of the holding through a mass offering to the general public like those seen in the utilities sector in the 1980s.