- RIYADH: Banque Saudi Fransi posted a 10 percent gain in its first-quarter net profit on the back of improved operating income, the bank said in a bourse statement on Tuesday, edging ahead of analysts' expectations.
The SR789 million ($210.4 million) it earned in the first three months of 2012 compared with net earnings of SR717 million in the same period a year earlier and SR661 million in the last quarter of 2011.
The company attributed its profit gains to an increase in total operating income, which rose by 6.1 percent to SR1.22 billion from SR1.15 billion in the first quarter of 2011.
Profits from special commissions grew by 5.9 percent to SR802 million from SR757 million in the same period a year earlier.
Loans and advances rose by 15.5 percent to SR97 billion from SR84 billion at the end of March 2011, it added.