Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank reported Monday a 16.3% rise in its net profit for 2022, crossing analyst expectations, thanks to higher operating income.
Net profit reached $4.6 billion (SAR 17.2 billion) in 2022, up from $3.9 billion (SAR 14.8 billion) for the previous year, it said in a bourse filing.
Two analysts predicted a profit of $4.5 billion (SAR 16.9 billion) for 2022, according to Refinitiv.
The bank attributed its annual results to higher operating income, which grew 11% year-on-year (YoY), supported by net financing and investment income as well as fees from banking services, exchange income, and other operating income.
In 2022, loans and advances grew 25.5% YoY to $151.4 billion (SAR 568.3 billion), while deposits rose 10.3% to $150.5 billion (SAR 564.9 billion).
For the fourth quarter, Al Rajhi posted a net profit of $1.2 billion (SAR 4.4 billion), based on Reuters calculations, compared with $1.1 billion (SAR 4 billion) in the same period a year earlier. Al Rajhi Bank ranked second on Forbes Middle East's Top 30 Banks 2022 list. Waleed Abdullah Al-Mogbel, CEO of the bank, ranked 12th on Forbes Middle East's Top 100 CEOs In The Middle East 2022 list.
