Saudi Hollandi Bank's second-quarter net profit more than doubled, beating analysts' forecasts, helped by falling operational costs. The bank made a net profit of SR250.5 million ($66.8 million) in the three months to end-June 30, up from SR90.6 million in the year-earlier period, it said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website on Saturday. Analysts forecasts for the bank in a Reuters survey earlier in July ranged from SR208 million to SR243.43 million. The bank's operational profit reached SR478.8 million, down from SR552.5 million in the same period a year earlier. The bank said that a 28-percent rise in it net profits for the first six months of the year was due to declining operational costs. Special commissions for the second quarter amounted to SR322 million, down 15.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, the bank said. Customer deposits declined 14.6 percent from a year earlier to SR44.1 million, it said. Al Rajhi Bank, the Arab Gulf's largest lender by market value, said Saturday its second-quarter net profit rose to SR1.78 ($474.7 million) from SR1.77 billion a year ago. Credit Suisse expected the bank to earn SR1.67 billion in the three-month period, while Egypt's EFG-Hermes projected a net profit of SR1.74 billion. Earnings per share in the first half of 2010 fell to SR2.31 compared to SR2.34 a year earlier, it said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website. Al Rajhi Bank shares closed trading Saturday 2 percent higher at SR76.5. Banque Saudi Fransi, the lender part-owned by Credit Agricole SA, said Saturday second-quarter net profit rose 9.4 percent from a year earlier, to SR757 million ($201.9 million). First-half earnings per share came in at SR2.03 versus SR1.98 in 2009, the company said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website. Second-quarter net lending income, or special fees net income, stood at SR776 million, a 2.5 percent increase from the SR757 million it saw during the same period in 2009. The bank's loans and advances portfolio rose by 1.2 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year to stand at SR81 billion. Total assets in the first six months of the year eased to SR121 billion from SR123 billion in the year earlier period, while investments fell 15 percent to SR17 billion, the bank said. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Alinma Bank said Saturday second-quarter net profit plunged to SR3 million ($800,000) from SR68 million a year ago due to higher operational costs and lower return on investments. The bank posted a net loss of SR75 million in the first three months of 2010, according to a statement on the Saudi bourse website. Alinma, the Kingdom's newest Islamic bank, said its first-half losses per share came in at SR0.05 versus earnings per share of SR0.11 in the year-ago period. Its assets increased 50 percent on the year to SR24.9 billion as of end of June. The bank said the decline in net profit was due a slump in returns generated from its investments and the increased operating costs associated with the launch of its retail banking operations, like opening new branches and purchasing automated teller machines. The stock closed down 1.82 percent Saturday at SR11.20 in a positive market.
