RIYADH, 7 April 2005 — Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest listed bank, said on Tuesday net profit for the first three months of the year surged 40 percent to a record SR816 million ($218 million).
The bank, formerly known as Saudi American Bank, said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website that net operating income reached SR1.2 billion. It gave no comparative figure, but last year it reported net operating income of SR887 million.
Samba made the announcement after the close of the Saudi stock market. The bank’s shares rose 2.69 percent on Tuesday to SR714.5 in a bullish market. Saudi Arabia’s soaring oil receipts have fueled investor confidence and swelled corporate profits for the last two years. Samba said assets rose 24 percent to SR105.6 billion at the end of March. Loans and advances were up 42 percent at SR53.6 billion and demand deposits gained 20 percent to SR34.9 billion.