Saudi Arabia's Al-Rajhi Bank said its first-quarter net profit was mostly flat from a year earlier, missing analyst forecasts after rising one per cent.

Al-Rajhi made a net profit of SR 1.7 billion ($453 million) in the three months to end-March, compared with SR 1.68 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to a bourse statement on Monday.

Six analysts surveyed by Reuters estimated the bank to post, on average, SR 1.8 billion.

The bank said the rise was attributed to growth in revenue from operations.

Al-Rajhi Bank's operational profit increased 3.7 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier to SR 2.9 billion while investment and financing profits declined by 1 per cent to SR 2.2 billion.

Customer deposits increased 21 per cent in the first-quater to SR 160 billion, from SR 132 billion in the same period a year earlier, the bank said.

The bank's assets rose 18 per cent in the first-quarter to SR 203 billion from SR 172 billion in the same period a year earlier.-Reuters