DUBAI- Samba Financial Group , Saudi Arabia's third-largest bank by assets, reported a 10.2 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Sunday, in line with analysts' forecasts.

The bank made a profit of 1.4 billion riyals ($373 million) in the three months to June 30, up from 1.27 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

The average forecast from three analysts polled by Reuters was for a profit of 1.33 billion riyals.

The bank attributed its increase in net profit to higher net special commission income and other operating income, as well as a decline in salary expenses and other costs.

Loans and advances at the end June stood at 116.6 billion riyals, falling 3.2 percent from the same point of 2017, while deposits dipped by 1.5 percent to 168.6 billion riyals over the same period. ($1 = 3.7503 riyals)

(Reporting by Tom Arnold Editing by David Goodman) ((Tom.Arnold@thomsonreuters.com; +97144536265; Reuters Messaging: tom.arnold.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))