RIYADH, 27 January 2008 — Arab National Bank (ANB) announced a slight drop of 1.7 percent in net profit at $656 million in 2007 compared to $668 million in the preceding year, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The bank’s earning per share reached $1.44 compared to $1.47 in 2006.
Total operating income reached $1,055 million compared to $1,028 million in 2006, an increase of 2.6 percent. Net special commission income increased by 15 percent to reach $774 million, while fees from banking services decreased by 21 percent to $207 million. Operating expenses increased by 11 percent to $399 million compared to $360 million for last year.
Profits of the fourth quarter of 2007 reached $129 million compared to $149 million for the same period last year. The decrease in profits came mainly as a result of a drop in investment earnings by $33 million compared to 2006.
The bank’s financial position reflected a balanced growth where loans portfolio rose by 23 percent to reach $16.3 billion, while customer deposits grew by 19 percent to $19.7 billion, and shareholders’ equity reached $2.8 billion.
“2007 was a successful year for the bank due to the strong growth of its main business sectors. The bank’s financial position continued its growth where loans and customer deposits rose by 23 percent and 19 percent, consecutively, leading to increase of the bank’s assets to $25.2 billion,” said Robert Eid, ANB managing director.
“In 2007 ANB continued executing its branch network transformation and expansion project by remodeling, relocating and opening a significant number of new model branches Kingdom wide,” he added.
“ANB’s board of directors recommended to increase the bank’s capital to $1.73 billion by granting 3 bonus shares for every 7 shares held in order to strengthen and consolidate the bank’s capital base to accommodate the continued growth of its businesses,” Eid said.