Saudi Arabia's Riyad Bank, the kingdom's third-largest lender by market value, posted a 21.6 rise in net profit in the first quarter, beating forecasts.

The bank made SR901 million ($240.3 million) in the three months to end-March, up from SR741 million in the year-earlier period, the firm said in a bourse statement on Saturday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated average earnings of SR843.9 million. – Reuters