#Saudi British Bank's Q4 net profit drops 26% as provisions climb | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Saudi British Bank's Q4 net profit drops 26% as provisions climb | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Saudi British Bank's (SABB) net profit slumped 26 percent to 595 million riyals ($159 million) for the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 801 million riyals for the same period last year as provisions for expected credit losses (ECL) mounted.

This compares with a net profit of 1.03 billion riyals it made in the prior quarter, SABB said in a filing on Saudi Tadawul on Wednesday.

The effort missed average analysts estimate of 737 million riyals, according to Refinitiv.

In Q4, provision for ECL was 414 million riyals versus 32 million riyals in the year-ago period. In Q3-2021 it was 13 million riyals. According to SABB, the current quarter reflected increased charges against certain corporate customers.

For the full year 2021, SABB made a net profit of 3.20 billion riyals versus a net loss of 4.16 billion riyals in 2020. This came below the average analyst estimate of 3.57 billion riyals.

The bank, in which HSBC Holdings has a 31 percent stake, said this was primarily driven by lower provision for ECL of 454 million riyals.

Total operating expenses were 3.7 billion riyals compared with 4.2 billion riyals for the last year.

An increase in share in earnings of associates also contributed to the pivot to profitability. This was partially offset by a decrease in total operating income mainly driven by lower net special income by 17 percent, the bank said.