Oceanic Bank said on Tuesday it swung to 2.56 billion naira ($17.2 million) pre-tax profit in the first quarter from a 14.83 billion naira loss a year ago.

Oceanic, one of nine lenders rescued by the central bank in a $4 billion bailout last year, said its gross earnings in the period ended March 2010 rose to 30.35 billion naira from 29.33 billion a year earlier.

The bank narrowed its pre-tax loss in 2009 to 116.14 billion naira from 338.23 billion naira the previous year, while full-year gross earnings rose to 196.4 billion from 118.29 billion the previous year, it said in a filing to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.