JEDDAH: Samba Financial Group said its fourth-quarter net profit rose 15.8 percent year-on-year, coming in slightly below analysts’ expectations.

The bank said in a bourse filing that it made SR1.01 billion ($269 million) in the 3 months to Dec. 31, compared to SR869 million in the same period of 2012.

Samba attributed the profit rise to an increase in operating income, which advanced 9.9 percent year-on-year to SR1.6 billion.

The quarterly results pushed up full-year 2013 earnings after three flat quarters, with net profit advancing 4.1 percent on the previous year to SR4.51 billion.

Samba’s loans portfolio climbed 10.6 percent year-on-year to SR113.5 billion at the end of 2013.

Deposits grew 6.5 percent to SR158.3 billion.

The bank said earlier that its board had recommended a cash dividend of SR0.85 per share for the second half of 2013, in line with the dividend for the corresponding period of 2012.