RBS posts first quarterly profit since Q3 2015

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) swung to a better than expected first quarter profit of 259 million pounds ($334.24 million), it reported on Friday, after making a loss of nearly a billion pounds in the same period a year ago.

The result was more than the 50 million pounds forecast from the average of analysts' estimates compiled by the bank, and was the lender's first quarterly profit since September 2015.

The bank has not made a full-year profit in nine years, as it battles restructuring costs and conduct fines resulting from its years of over-expansion leading into the 2008 financial crisis.

RBS said its core capital ratio rose to 14.1 percent from 13.4 percent ayear ago. ($1 = 0.7749 pounds) (Reporting By Lawrence White, editing by Huw Jones)