PHOTO
Image used for illustrative purpose. A trader monitors stocks at a Saudi Bank in Dammam.
DUBAI, July 18 (Reuters) - Samba Financial Group
1090.SE
, Saudi Arabia's third-largest bank by assets, reported a 1.4 percent drop in second-quarter net profit on Monday, in line with analysts' forecasts.
The bank made a profit of 1.31 billion riyals ($349.3 million) in the three months to June 30, down from 1.33 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.
Six analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast the bank would make a quarterly net profit of 1.30 billion riyals.
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The bank attributed its drop in net profit to a 6.4 percent rise in total operating expenses as a result of an increase in salaries and related expenses and higher credit provisions.
This offset the benefits from a 15.2 percent rise in profits from special commissions, which increased to 1.34 billion riyals. Operating income for the quarter advanced 1.1 percent on the corresponding period of 2015 to 1.97 billion riyals.
Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.
The kingdom's banks are finding themselves in a trickier operating environment than they've become accustomed to in recent years as weaker oil prices pressure liquidity and slow economic growth to its lowest pace in three years.
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Loans and advances at the end of June stood at 130.8 billion riyals, falling 0.1 percent on the same point of 2015, while deposits rose 0.7 percent to 172.1 billion riyals over the same period.
The bank said on June 30 it proposed a cash dividend of 0.45 riyals per share for the opening half of 2016. It is the same amount as it paid for the first six months of last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
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($1 = 3.7502 riyals)
(Reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by David French) ((Tom.Arnold@thomsonreuters.com; +97144536265; Reuters Messaging: tom.arnold.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
The bank made a profit of 1.31 billion riyals ($349.3 million) in the three months to June 30, down from 1.33 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.
Six analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast the bank would make a quarterly net profit of 1.30 billion riyals.
The bank attributed its drop in net profit to a 6.4 percent rise in total operating expenses as a result of an increase in salaries and related expenses and higher credit provisions.
This offset the benefits from a 15.2 percent rise in profits from special commissions, which increased to 1.34 billion riyals. Operating income for the quarter advanced 1.1 percent on the corresponding period of 2015 to 1.97 billion riyals.
Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.
The kingdom's banks are finding themselves in a trickier operating environment than they've become accustomed to in recent years as weaker oil prices pressure liquidity and slow economic growth to its lowest pace in three years.
Loans and advances at the end of June stood at 130.8 billion riyals, falling 0.1 percent on the same point of 2015, while deposits rose 0.7 percent to 172.1 billion riyals over the same period.
The bank said on June 30 it proposed a cash dividend of 0.45 riyals per share for the opening half of 2016. It is the same amount as it paid for the first six months of last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
($1 = 3.7502 riyals)
(Reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by David French) ((Tom.Arnold@thomsonreuters.com; +97144536265; Reuters Messaging: tom.arnold.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
