Saudi’s Arab National Bank Q1 profit beats forecasts despite 2.8pc dip

REUTERS

Arab National Bank, Saudi Arabia’s seventh-largest lender by assets value, reported a 2.8 percent fall in first-quarter profit, but still beat analysts’ forecasts.
Net profit in the three months to March 31 was 749.2 million riyals ($199.8 million), compared to 770.6 million riyals in the corresponding period of the previous year, it said in a bourse statement.
Four analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average the lender would make a first-quarter net profit of 685.8 million riyals.
Arab National Bank, 40 percent owned by Jordan’s largest lender Arab Bank Group, attributed the performance to lower fees and commission income, as well as a drop in special commission income which was mainly due to a rise in the cost of funds.
It said those negative factors were offset by gains from non-trading investments and other operating income, as well as a 1.6 percent fall in operating expenses.
Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.
Arab National Bank is a major bank based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange. It is among the top ten largest banks in the Middle East and has received an ‘A’ rank from Standard and Poor’s. It has 156 branches in Saudi Arabia. Its largest shareholder is Arab Bank, holding 40 percent of the fund.
It established a branch in Jeddah in 1949. Early on, both the Governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait took on small stakes in Arab Bank of about 10 percent each. Despite this and despite being pan-Arab in its orientation, Arab Bank was unable to escape the policy limiting foreign ownership. In 1980, it transferred its six branches to the newly created Arab National Bank. In 2002, the Governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait own about eight percent of Arab Bank
between them.