Riyad Bank, Saudi Arabia's fourth largest lender, posted a 36.2 percent fall in first-quarter profit after booking more provisions following a fall in the value of investments. Net profit fell to SR441 million ($117.6 million), or SR0.29 a share, from SR691 million, or SR0.67 a share, in the same quarter a year ago, the bank said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website. The bank missed analysts' forecasts which ranged from SR687.7 million to SR695 million, according to a Reuters survey this month. The bank said it had taken an unspecified amount of extra provisions after the value of investments fell amid the global financial crisis. It had said in January it had allocated about SR900 million in provisions after revaluating its investments. Operating income rose 20.4 percent to SR1.459 billion in the quarter, while profit from commissions rose by 13.4 percent to SR1.112 billion.
