By Lars Mucklejohn Funding Circle swung to an unexpected profit in the first half of 2024 and raised its guidance for the full year as the small business lender looks to boost its flagging share price. The London-listed fintech posted a pretax profit of £0.5m for the six months, compared to a £7.4m loss in the same period last year – and a £2.5m loss in the second half of 2023. Funding Circle said it became profitable a half year earlier than it had expected, upgrading its previous guidance to target a full-year profit for 2024, rather than just the second half of the year. The firm added that…