Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland said on Thursday it had moved closer to being in a position for the government to start selling its 82 percent stake in the bank.

RBS made an operating profit of 3.5 billion pounds, up from 1.8 billion the year before and the highest since its bailout in 2008.

"It (the bank) is much closer now to being in the good financial health that would allow shareholders to receive a dividend and the government to start to sell its stake," Chairman Philip Hampton said in a statement.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Steve Slater)