Kingdom Holding Records 11.3% Q1 Profit Rise

Kingdom Holding Company, the investment firm owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, made a net profit of SR100.8 million ($26.8 million) during the first quarter of the year, an increase of 11.3 per cent compared to SR90.6 million during the same quarter in 2011, it said in a statement on the Saudi bourse.

However the amount represented a 46.3 per cent decline compared to the SR187.8 million the company made during the previous quarter.

“The reason for change in net income is a result of selling our stake in the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and partial sale of the Kingdom Oasis Project in Riyadh to the Trade Centre Company Limited, as well as income from the portfolio of Assets Held for Trading,” the company said in the statement.

“The change is also due to a decrease in the performance of international hotel management companies as a result of current events in the Middle East and an increase in financing costs,” it added.

Gross profit for the first quarter increased 55 per cent year-on-year to reach SR274.8 million, while income from operations also rose 4.7 per cent to SR218.1 million during the period.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported last week that Prince Alwaleed’s fortune has increased 18.2 per cent, or $3.2 billion, so far this year, since the shares of his Kingdom Holding Company have risen 36 per cent.

The 57-year-old now ranks 24th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $20.5 billion.