Saudi British bank second quarter profit up 7.4 percent, beats estimates

Saudi British bank second quarter profit up 7.4 percent, beats estimates

SABB Q2 2012 net profit 915 mln riyals vs 852 mln yr-ago; Profit up on increased operating income, decreased costs; Loans and advances up 18.7 pct, deposits up 18.6 pct

July 11, 2012 11:00 by Reuters

Saudi lender SABB posted a 7.4 percent rise in its second-quarter net profit due to increasing operating income and a decrease in expenses, the bank said in a bourse statement on Tuesday, beating the average forecast of analysts.

The bank made a net profit of 915 million riyals ($244 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with 852 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected the firm to post, on average, 829.4 million riyals for the second-quarter.

Net profit for the first half of 2012 jumped 10.4 percent to 1.77 billion riyals from 1.6 billion riyals for the opening six months of last year.

“The increase in net income for the current half compared to the same period a year earlier is an increase in operating income and a decrease in operating expenses,” the statement said.

SABB’s total operating profit for the second quarter rose by 2.2 percent to 1.38 billion riyals from 1.35 billion riyals a year earlier, it said.

Income from special commissions rose 6.1 percent in the second quarter to 827 million riyals from 779 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Loans and advances increased 18.7 percent year-on-year. At the end of June, the bank had lent 94.7 billion riyals, versus 79.8 billion riyals on June 30 2011.

Deposits gained by a similar amount – 18.6 percent – over the same period, to 117.6 billion riyals from 99.2 billion riyals a year ago.

($1 = 3.7502 Saudi riyals)

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by David French)