Saudi Arabia-based Al Rajhi Bank said Monday its first-quarter net profit edged up 6.3% year-on-year to $1.2 billion (SAR 4.4 billion), marking the bank's highest quarterly profit, thanks to a rise in operating income, a bourse filing showed.

Al Rajhi Bank earnings

Al Rajhi Bank's total operations profit soared by 6.6% year-on-year to $1.9 billion (SAR 7.2 billion) in the January-March quarter, according to the bank's earnings release on the Saudi Exchange. The increase in operating income was attributed to a 17.4% year-on-year surge in net income from the special commission of investment segment to $156.8 million (SAR 588 million) during the quarter. The bank's net income from the special commission of financing segment rose 9.4% year-on-year to $1.3 billion (SAR 5.1 billion) in the January-March quarter. Yet, the bank reported a 3.4% year-on-year drop in its total comprehensive income to $1.1 billion (SAR 4.1 billion) in the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The Riyadh-headquartered bank's investments swelled 24.7% year-on-year to $37.9 billion (SAR 142.1 billion), as its loans and advances portfolio expanded 5.5% year-on-year to $162.4 billion (SAR 608.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2024. Al Rajhi bank's clients deposits also jumped 8.6% year-on-year to $161 billion (SAR 603.9 billion), as per the bank's filing. Big number

Al Rajhi Bank saw its total assets grow by 7.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, reaching $222.9 billion (SAR 835.9 billion).

Increase in financing

During the quarter, the Saudi bank experienced significant growth in financing for medium and small enterprises by 24.3%, as well as a 6.2% increase in real estate financing for citizens, the bank said in a statement on Monday.

Share price up

In the first quarter of 2024, Al Rajhi Bank reported a profit of 28 cents (SAR 1.05) per share for its shareholders, an increase from 26 cents (SAR 0.99) in the same period last year.

As of 12:04 pm GST on Monday, the bank's share price rose by 1.7% to $21.3 (SAR 79.9), leading to a market capitalization of $83.8 billion (SAR 314.4 billion).

Sukuk sale

In March, Al Rajhi Bank revealed in a Tadawul filing that it successfully raised $1 billion through the sale of its five-year dollar-denominated sustainable sukuk under its international sukuk program.

The sukuk was available for purchase by both local and international investors. The sale concluded with 5,000 bonds sold at $200,000 each, yielding a return of 5.047% per annum.