The bank made a net profit of SR717 million ($191.2 million), up 0.4 percent from SR714 million in the same period last year, it said in a statement.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to make an average net profit of SR752.40 million.
Total operating profit during the first three months of the year rose 7.3 percent to SR1.15 billion, while net profit from commissions increased 4.7 percent to SR757 million from the same period last year, the lender said.
Total assets rose by five percent to SR127 billion. However, total investments for the quarter fell 24 percent to SR19 billion.
Loans and advances climbed five percent to SR84 billion and customer deposits increased 9.1 percent to SR96 billion, it said in the statement.
Analysts expect Saudi banks to perform better in 2011 as the banks cut down on provisions and begin to lend more as the country is undergoing multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects.
