Alinma Bank reported a 16.3 percent hike in fourth-quarter net profit on Monday, beating the average forecast of analysts as net income rose. Net profit in the three months to Dec. 31 was SR386 million ($103 million), compared to SR332 million in the same period last year, it said in a bourse statement. Five analysts polled by Reuters forecast on average the firm would make a quarterly net profit of 367.8 million riyals. The firm attributed the hike in net profit to an 8.2 percent rise in total operating income, which in turn was driven by an increase in net income from financing and investment activities and fee income. This helped to offset lower income from the sale of investments and a 0.9 percent increase in operating expenses. Alinma, the tenth largest bank in the kingdom by assets, said last month it would pay a cash dividend of 0.5 riyals per share for 2015, in line with the payout for the previous year. — Reuters
