Samba Posts Record Profit of SR695 Million

RIYADH, 10 October 2004 — Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest listed bank, posted a record profit of SR695 million ($185.3 million) in the third quarter of this year, the bank said yesterday. The bank said net income for the first nine months of 2004 rose 83 percent to SR1.905 billion. Samba shares briefly rose about 1.3 percent to SR596 on the news before falling back slightly in a broadly weaker market. The stock is up 51 percent since the start of the year. Total assets stood at SR91.8 billion compared to SR76.6 billion in September 2003, a rise of 20 percent. Total net loans and advances rose 37 percent to SR44.4 billion and demand deposits were up 24 percent at SR24.5 billion.