DUBAI: Riyad Bank, Saudi Arabia's third-largest lender by market value, posted a 18.8 percent rise in its third-quarter net profit on Monday due to higher operating income and lower expenses.
The bank said it made SR998 million ($266.1 million) in the three months ending Sept. 30, compared with SR840 million in the same period a year earlier.
The figure beat the average forecast of ten analysts polled by Reuters, who expected a SR957.4 million net profit for the third quarter.
Operating income for the quarter rose by 4.3 percent to SR1.74 billion. No figure was given for the movement in operating expenses, although the bank said they fell.
Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed filings later.
Net profit for the first nine months of 2013 was SR2.92 billion, up 9.8 percent from the SR2.66 billion in the corresponding period of 2012.
The Kingdom's second largest branch network makes Riyad Bank well placed to benefit from expected growth of mortgage lending, although its net profit in the next 3-4 quarters may be restrained by higher provisioning, Global Investment House said in a report in June.
Customer deposits gained 14.3 percent from a year earlier and stood at SR154.2 billion on Sept. 30. Loans and advances at the end of September stood at SR129.9 billion, up 12.7 percent on the same point of 2012.
Riyad Bank net profit rises to SR998m
Riyad Bank net profit rises to SR998m
