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SABB net profit surges 12.2pc in 2012

Riyadh, January 14, 2013

Saudi British Bank (SABB), an associated company of the HSBC Group, has registered a net profit of  SR3.24 billion ($862.8 million) for 2012, up 12.2 per cent compared to SR2.88 billion for the same period the year before.

Saudi Arabia's fourth-largest listed bank posted a bigger than expected 24.4 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, with its loans portfolio, customer deposits and earnings from special commissions all rising over the year.

SABB said in a bourse filing on Monday it made SR815 million in the last three months of 2012 compared to SR655 million in the last quarter of 2011. It cited higher operating income and a decrease in operating expenses for the rise.

Total operating income was SR5.16 billion for the year ended December 31, 2012, up 5.5 per cent, compared to SR4.89 billion for the same period in 2011.

The customer deposits stood at SR120.4 billion thus registering an increase of SR14.8 billion compared to the same period in 2011.

SABB said its loans and advances to customers also grew 13.3 per cent from SR84.8 billion in 2011 to SR96.1 billion. The bank’s investment portfolio totaled SR27.6 billion at 31 December 2012, up 24.3 per cent compared with SR22.2 billion at December 31, 2011.

The bank said total assets soared to SR156.7 billion as of December 31, 2012, compared to SR138.7 billion the year before thus registering an increase of 13 per cent or SR18 billion.

The earnings per share was SR3.24 for the year against SR2.89 (adjusted to bonus share issue 1 for 3 shares as a result of the bank’s capital increase to SR10 billion) for the same period last year.

Commenting on the results, chairman Sheikh Khaled Olayan said: “SABB’s strategy of diversifying its income streams and controlling its costs effectively ensured another strong financial performance in 2012."

SABB, he noted, has continued to focus on strong asset quality while maintaining healthy capital and liquidity positions.

Saudi banks have enjoyed successive years of expansionary government budgets, ample liquidity and improving corporate loan demand.-Reuters and TradeArabia News Service




Tags: capital | profit | growth | Deposits | Saudi British Bank |

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