DUBAI: Arab National Bank, Saudi Arabia’s seventh-largest lender by assets, reported a 2.1 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, broadly in line with analysts’ estimates, as expenses rose.
Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 818 million riyals ($218.1 million), compared to 835.3 million riyals in the corresponding period of the previous year, it said in a bourse statement.
Six analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average the lender would make a quarterly net profit of 773.7 million riyals.
Arab National Bank, 40 per cent owned by Jordan’s largest lender Arab Bank Group, cited an 8.8 per cent rise in total operating expenses, mainly due to an increase in impairment charges for credit losses and investments. Higher depreciation and amortisation expenses were also to blame for the profit fall, it said.
Net banking fees and commission income also sank, as well as net foreign exchange income, it added without elaborating.
Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.
The bank announced on June 26 its board had proposed a cash dividend of 0.45 riyals per share for the first half of 2016, in line with the payout for the corresponding period of last year.
