JEDDAH: Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest bank by assets, posted a 3.1 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit, according to a bourse statement.

The bank said it made SR1.28 billion ($341.3 million) in the three months ending March 31, compared with SR1.24 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Seven analysts surveyed by Reuters on average forecast the bank to post a net profit of SR1.23 billion or the quarter.

The bank attributed its increase in net profit to higher total operating income — which gained 5.3 percent year on year.