DUBAI: Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia's third-largest bank by assets, posted a 7 percent increase in its second-quarter net profit, it said in a bourse statement on Sunday, beating analyst forecasts.

The bank said it made SR1.26 billion ($336 million) in the three months ending June 30, compared with SR1.18 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to post an average net profit of SR1.19 billion for the quarter.

The bank attributed its gain in net profit to higher operating income — which rose 5 percent year-on-year to SR1.84 billion — without elaborating.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.

Loans and advances at the end of June stood at SR122.2 billion, gaining 12.1 percent on the same point of 2013, while deposits rose 4.9 percent to SR163.6 billion over the same period.

Samba's board of directors proposed earlier this month a cash dividend of SR0.65 per share for the first half of 2014, a slight increase year-on-year.