#Saudi lender Samba posts 30% rise in 2019 net profit - Reuters

Saudi lender Samba posts 30% rise in 2019 net profit - Reuters:

Saudi lender Samba Financial Group on Sunday posted a 30% rise in annual net profit, helped by a lower charge for an Islamic tax and a double-digit rise in revenue from special commissions, financing and investments.

Samba said in a bourse filing its 2019 net profit was 3.99 billion riyals, up from 3.06 billion riyals a year earlier.

Analysts had forecast the bank would make a net profit averaging 4.3 billion riyals, according to Refinitiv data. 

Samba’s fourth-quarter net profit was 764 million riyals, compared to a net loss of 586 million riyals a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations in the absence of a quarterly breakdown.