Saudi British Bank Q1 Profit Rises 14%

Saudi British Bank, Saudi Arabia’s fourth-largest listed lender, posted a 14 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, slightly higher than analyst forecasts.

The bank said it made 1.08 billion Saudi riyals ($287.97 million) in the three months ending March 31, up from 947.9 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to post an average net profit of 1.02 Billion riyals for the quarter.

The bank attributed its profit growth to rising operating income, which increased 12.8 percent to 1.62 billion riyals.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.

Profit from special commissions rose 8.5 per cent to 960.6 million riyals.

Loans and advances at the end of March stood at 109.9 billion riyals, up 8.6 per cent on the same point of 2013.

The bank held deposits worth 137 billion riyals at the end of March, 12.2 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Fitch Ratings said in January that Saudi banks should continue to see strong performance, with ample opportunity for lending provided by a good economic outlook due to high oil prices, high state spending and a bigger non-oil private sector