Saudi’s Samba Q3 net profit rises 7pc, beats estimates
DUBAI, October 9, 2015
Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia's third-largest bank by assets, reported a seven per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating analyst forecasts.
The bank made a profit of SR1.37 billion ($365.38 million) in the three months to Sept 30, up from SR1.28 billion in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.
Five analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast the bank would make a quarterly net profit of SR1.25 billion.
Total operating income for the quarter rose 7.6 per cent to SR1.99 billion and profit from special commissions grew 0.8 per cent to SR1.18 billion.
Samba's loans portfolio stood at SR127.1 billion at the end of September, 5.8 per cent higher than the same point of 2014, according to the statement.
Its deposit base increased 6.8 per cent year-on-year to SR174.6 billion.
Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later. - Reuters
