Banque Saudi Fransi, the lender part-owned by Credit Agricole, posted a 16 per cent rise in its second-quarter net profit, it said in a bourse statement on Monday, beating analyst forecasts.

The kingdom's fourth-largest bank by assets said it made 884 million riyals ($235.7 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with 763 million riyals in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to post an average net profit of 839.4 million riyals for the quarter.

The bank, which sold a 2 billion riyal capital-boosting sukuk last month, attributed its rise in net profit to an increase in operating income - which rose 15.2 per cent to 1.48 billion riyals - 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 117.4 billion riyals, gaining 6.5 percent on the same point of 2013, while deposits rose 7.9 percent to 134.4 billion riyals over the same period.-Reuters