LONDON: Britain’s state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group posted mixed earnings on Wednesday as the lender set aside more cash to compensate customers who were mis-sold insurance. Net profit, or earnings after taxation, was flat at £690 million in the three months to September, compared with the same period a year earlier, LBG said in a statement. However, underlying pre-tax profits before exceptional items and legacy costs fell eight per cent to £2 billion in the reporting period. That dashed market expectations for about £2.3 billion. The group took another £500-million payment protection insurance charge in the period, taking its total bill for the mis-selling scandal above £13.9 billion.