Riyad Bank reports rise in Q2 earnings, beats forecasts | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Riyad Bank reports rise in Q2 earnings, beats forecasts | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Riyad Bank, Saudi Arabia’s fourth-largest lender by assets, reported a rise in Q2 2019 earnings, beating analysts’ estimates.

The bank’s net profit amounted to 1.5 billion Saudi riyals ($399.96 million), compared to 842 million riyals in Q2 2018, a 78.15 percent increase.

“Earnings were 13 percent ahead of our estimate of SAR1.3bn, driven by stronger net interest income and lower-than-expected provisioning,” Shabbir Malik, a banking analyst at EFG-Hermes, told Zawya.