Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank posted a 27 percent rise in net profit for the first half of 2023 to SAR 4 billion ($1.06 billion), compared to SAR 3.16 billion in H1 2022.
According to Argaam, the year-on-year (YoY) profit increase was attributed to a rise in total operating income, mainly due to higher net special commission income, trading gains, exchange income, net and other operating income.
However, this was partially offset by a drop in gains on disposal of non-trading investments, net fee and commission income, and dividend income.
On the other hand, the bank reported higher operating expenses (OpEx) due to an increase in the net provision for impairment of credit losses and other financial assets, along with other general and administrative expenses, Argaam said.
The three-month net profit jumped 23 percent to SAR 1.98 billion from SAR 1.61 billion in Q2 2022.
Net profit decreased by 1.8 percent from SAR 2.01 billion in Q1 2023.
Shareholders’ equity, no minority interest, increased to SAR 51.12 billion as of June 30, 2023, from SAR 46.63 billion a year earlier.