Saudi Lender Samba Beats Estimates with 7% Q2 Net Profit Rise

Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest bank by assets, posted a seven per cent increase in its second-quarter net profit, it said in a bourse statement on Sunday, beating analyst forecasts.

The bank said it made SAR1.26 billion ($336 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with SAR1.18 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to post an average net profit of SAR1.19 billion for the quarter.

The bank attributed its gain in net profit to higher operating income – which rose five per cent year-on-year to SAR1.84 billion – without elaborating.

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

Loans and advances at the end of June stood at SAR122.2 billion, gaining 12.1 per cent on the same point of 2013, while deposits rose 4.9 per cent to SAR163.6 billion over the same period.

Samba’s board of directors proposed earlier this month a cash dividend of SAR0.65 per share for the first half of 2014, a slight increase year-on-year.