RIYADH, 9 May 2004 — National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest, said yesterday its first quarter 2004 net income rose 25.7 percent from the same period last year.
An unaudited interim statement released by the mainly state-owned bank said net income rose to SR933.4 million ($248.9 million) from SR742.6 million in the first three months of 2003. Earnings per share rose to SR7.8 riyals from SR6.2.
Saudi banks have posted strong performances as high oil prices have pumped cash into the economy of the world’s biggest oil exporter. NCB’s profits rose 23.8 percent in 2003. Total operating income in the first quarter stood at SR1.42 billion, up from SR1.19 billion in the first three months of 2003, the bank said.
Most of that increase came from a rise in net “special commission income” — a term covering investment in securities and lending to corporate and consumer borrowers — which rose 19 percent to SR1.07 billion.
Assets rose to SR122.2 billion, up from SR117.4 billion on Dec. 31, 2003 and from SR110.6 billion on March 31 last year. The Saudi government holds an 80 percent stake in NCB. The rest of the bank’s equity is privately held.