Saudi’s Al Rajhi Bank Halves H2 Dividend After Q4 Profit Drop

Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest listed lender, said in a bourse filing on Sunday its board had recommended a cash dividend of 1 riyal ($0.27) per share for the second half of 2013.

The dividend is half of what Al Rajhi paid out for the final six months of 2012.

Al Rajhi reported a 19.1 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit last Thursday as operating expenses rose – likely due to higher provisioning.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Al Rajhi said it would boost its capital by eight per cent through a bonus share issue, which would gift shareholders 1 free share for every 12 shares they own in the bank.