Saudi Hollandi second quarter net profit jumps 26.2 percent

Saudi Hollandi second quarter net profit jumps 26.2 percent

Saudi Hollandi Q2 net profit 332.3 mln riyals vs 263.3 mln yr-ago; Profit jump on higher operating income, lower costs; Deposits up 21.9 pct year-on-year, loans up 20.1 pct

July 11, 2012 11:20 by Reuters

Saudi Hollandi Bank posted a 26.2 percent increase in its second-quarter net profit due to higher operating income and lower costs, the firm said in a bourse statement on Tuesday, beating analysts’ average forecast.

Saudi Hollandi, the eighth-largest lender in the kingdom, made a net profit of 332.3 million riyals ($88.6 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with 263.3 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank, on average, to post a second-quarter profit of 286.2 million riyals.

The bank attributed the result to lower costs and higher operating income, which rose by 12.1 percent in the second quarter to 554.9 million riyals from 495.2 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Net profit for the first half of the year was 622.3 million riyals, Saudi Hollandi said, a 24.1 percent increase on the 501.3 million riyals the bank made in the corresponding period of 2011.

Income from special commission rose by 12.2 percent to 343.8 million riyals from 306.5 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Customer deposits, at the end of June, stood at 49.6 billion riyals, up 21.9 percent on the 40.7 billion riyals figure reported at the same point of 2011.

Loans and advances jumped 20.1 percent year-on-year, with the bank lending 41.9 billion riyals by June 30 versus 34.9 billion riyals one year previously.

Loan growth continues to be strong in the kingdom, with credit growth up 14.7 percent year-on-year in May, according to figures from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.

($1 = 3.7502 Saudi riyals)

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by David French)