Alinma Bank Q2 net profit up 12.1% in line with estimates

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Alinma Bank reported a 12.1 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, in line with the average forecasts of analysts, as expenses dropped.

Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 409 million riyals ($109.1 million), compared to 365 million riyals in the same period last year, it said in a bourse statement.

Four analysts polled by Reuters forecast on average the lender would make a quarterly net profit of 395.3 million riyals.

Alinma, the tenth-largest bank in the kingdom by assets, cited an 18 per cent fall in total operating expenses for the profit rise, mainly due to a decrease in provisions relating to financing and investments.

This helped alleviate a 4.5 per cent year-on-year decline in total operating income to 808 million riyals.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing detailed results later.