Riyadh – Mubasher: Alawwal Bank on Wednesday stated that it turned a profit during the fourth quarter of 2017, against suffering losses in the year-ago period.
The Saudi-based lender's net profits amounted to SAR 236.5 million in Q4-17, against net losses worth SAR 249.3 million in the same period a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.
Quarter-on-quarter, the Saudi-listed bank’s profits tumbled 10.1%.
The Saudi bank attributed turning profitability to a 48.4% drop in operating expenses on the back of a decline in the impairment charge for credit losses, general and administrative expenses.
“Total operating income increased by 1.7% mainly due to an increase in net special commission income, partially offset by a decrease in gains on non-trading investments, fee and commission income, trading income and exchange income,” the statement added.
For the full-year 2017, the bank posted a 25.4% growth in net profits to SAR 1.34 billion, compared to SAR 1.06 billion in the year before.
Alawwal Bank’s stock shed 0.5%, closing Wednesday at SAR 12.78.
