Saudi British Bank (SABB) , the kingdom's fifth-largest listed lender by assets, posted a 25.2 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, in line with analysts' forecasts as operating income increased.

The bank, an affiliate of HSBC Holdings, said it made a profit of SR1.06 billion ($282.6 million) in the three months to September 30, up from SR845.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast the bank would make a quarterly net profit of SR1.05 billion.

The bank attributed the rise in quarterly profit to higher operating income, which increased 12.1 per cent to SR1.65 billion from a year earlier, without elaborating.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results.

Quarterly profit from special commissions increased 8.4 per cent to SR1.03 billion from the same period a year ago.

Loans and advances at the end of September stood at SR116.7 billion, up 8.2 per cent on the same point of 2013, while deposits rose 10.6 per cent to SR143.7 billion over the same period.

Sheikh Khaled Olayan, chairman of SABB, said: “SABB’s strategy of diversifying its income streams and controlling its costs has enabled the bank to record a strong financial performance for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. SABB’s continued focus on risk management, asset quality and maintaining strong capital and liquidity positions continues to provide SABB with growth opportunities in line with our strategic objectives." - Reuters and TradeArabia News Service