JEDDAH, 10 October 2006 — Samba Financial Group achieved a record third quarter net profit of SR4.27 billion ($1.14 billion) by Sept. 30 this year, Eissa Al-Eissa, the bank’s managing director & CEO announced yesterday.
He said the profit rose by 42.3 percent compared to the third-quarter performance last year when the amount was SR3 billion ($800 million).
“This is the highest profit achieved by Samba since its inception,” he added.
He said the third-quarter profit (SR1.44 billion, or $384 million) exceeded the profits gained in the first and second quarters of this year. “This reflects the bank’s strong performance and its continuous efforts to realize better results,” Al-Eissa said.
He said the bank’s operations’ profit rose by 34.7 percent to reach SR5.68 billion ($1.51 billion) during the same period compared to last year.
“This excellent performance not only proves the success of our strategy but also our ability to maintain our competitive position in the market,” he pointed out.
Al-Eissa commended the professionalism displayed Samba’s employees, saying it was one of the factors that helped the bank to preserve its leading position in the market despite challenges. “This strong performance in profits for three years consecutively qualifies our bank to provide value-added service to its shareholders,” the chief executive said. He emphasized the bank’s effective risk management policies supported by strong capital and its strategy based on a long-term vision.
Total value of loans and advances given by the bank during the last nine months rose to SR66.9 billion ($17.84 billion) compared to SR60.8 billion ($16.21 billion) during the same period last year. Deposits rose to SR89.5 billion ($23.9 billion) compared to SR82.4 billion ($22 billion) last year. Annual returns on assets increased by 5.1 percent against 3.9 percent while returns on shareholders’ rights jumped by 41.6 percent against 36.3 percent, Al-Eissa said. Samba recorded 56.4 percent increase in profits for first six months of this year to reach SR2.83 billion ($755 million) compared to the half-yearly result of SR1.81 billion ($483 million) last year. Al-Eissa attributed the increase in profits to the bank’s strong performance.
