Five major Saudi banks posted third-quarter net profits, three of which beat analysts forecasts, citing lower operational costs as well as increased income from banking fees and investments, the lenders said on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia's biggest Islamic Bank, Al Rajhi Bank posted an 18-percent rise in its third-quarter net profit to SR1.9 billion ($506 million) from 1.6 billion, attributing the rise in profit to higher revenue from banking fees and investment income. Al Rajhi's operational profit rose 7.6 percent to SR3.2 billion from SR2.97 billion a year earlier. Another lender, Saudi Hollandi Bank saw its third-quarter net profit more than triple to SR299 million from SR85 million, after it lowered its operational costs, the bank said. Saudi Hollandi, the Kingdom's oldest bank, had a 5.1 percent rise in its profit from special commissions to SR359.8 million but its operational profit dropped 0.6 percent to SR521 million, it said. Meanwhile, Aljazira Bank tripled its third-quarter net profit to SR66 million, up from SR22 million during the same period a year ago, citing lower operational costs. SABB Bank posted a 50.4 percent rise in its quarterly profits but still missed analyst forecasts. SABB made a net profit of SR630 million in the third-quarter, compared with 419 million riyals in the same period a year earlier. Banque Saudi Fransi made SR760 million in the third quarter, compared with 621 million riyals in the same period a year earlier. Saudi Fransi's operational profit rose 7.4 percent to SR1.2 billion from SR1.1 billion a year earlier and its profit from special commissions rose 3.9 percent to SR808 million riyals from SR778 million.
