Riyad Bank, Saudi Arabia's fifth largest bank by market value, said it made a fourth-quarter net profit of 793 million riyals ($211.5 million), up 13 percent from the year-earlier period.

Riyad bank's net operating income rose 6 percent in 2007 to 5.2 billion riyals, the bank said in a statement posted on the bourse's Web site.

"This growth highlights the bank's continuing focus on core banking activities," Chairman Rashed Abdul-Aziz al-Rashed said in the statement.

Analysts forecast of the bank's fourth-quarter earnings ranged from 743 million riyals to 832 million riyals, according to a Reuters survey last month.

Earnings per share grew to 4.82 riyals in 2007 up from 4.65 riyals in 2006.

The bank's net profit in 2007 rose 4 percent to 3.01 billion riyals partly through aggressive lending which has led to a 12 percent in net banking income.

Riyad Bank had outperformed listed Saudi banks in earnings growth for much of the previous three quarters, coping better with a sharp slide in trading volumes in the local bourse, which slashed income from brokerage commissions.

The bank will give shareholders a dividend of 1.6 riyals for the second half of 2007, raising to 3.2 riyals the total dividend for last year, twice its level in 2006, according to data on bourse Web site.

Loans in 2007 stood at 67.34 billion riyals, up 29 percent from their level in 2006, while deposit grew 22 percent over the year to 84.33 billion riyals.

The bank gave no figures on non-interest income, which is made up mainly of brokerage commissions. The bank plans to raise 13.13 billion riyals through a rights issue which would increase its capital by 140 percent and beef up reserves. - Reuters