Saudi Samba Q3 Profit Up 9% As Operating Income Rises

Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest bank by assets, posted a 9.4 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, in line with analyst forecasts as operating income increased.

The bank said it made a profit of SAR1.28 billion ($341.2 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, up from SAR1.17 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average forecast the bank would make a quarterly profit of SAR1.24 billion.

The bank attributed its profit rise to a six per cent increase in total operating income to SAR1.85 billion, without elaborating.

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

The net profit increase came despite profit from special commissions in the period slipping 0.5 per cent year-on-year to SAR1.18 billion.

Loans and advances at the end of September stood at SAR120.2 billion, up eight per cent on the same point of 2013, while deposits rose 5.4 per cent to SAR163.5 billion over the same period.