Saudi Arabia’s SNB (Saudi National Bank) has reported a net profit of SAR 20 billion ($5.3 billion) in 2023, a 7.7% increase from the SAR 18.6 billion ($4.6 billion) it reported in 2022.
The profit growth has been attributed to a 45% increase in net special commission income, on higher financing and investment portfolios by 10.3% and 4.2%, respectively, according to a filing sent to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
The bank’s 2023 profit growth was also driven by a drop in total operating expenses, including credit losses, by 1.7%. This is due to a 45.3% decrease in the net provision for expected credit losses.
The bank’s total operating income grew by 4.8% over the year, as a result of an increase in net special commission income by 2.7%, banking services fees income by 5.1%, and income from foreign currency transfers by 23.1%.
Investment income surged 22%, partially offset by an increase in other operations expenses by 21.9%.
The accelerated collections of corporate sector debts and re-evaluation of some low-value credit portfolios also contributed to the bank’s profit surge.
Looking at the fourth quarter of 2023, SNB’s net profit grew by 4% to SAR 4.96 billion from SAR 4.76 billion in Q4 2022. However, net profit edged down 0.9% compared to the SAR 5 billion it recorded in Q3 2023.
Overall, the bank’s total shareholders’ equity, excluding minority interest and Sukuk, reached SAR 160.7 billion, compared to SAR 150.5 billion a year earlier.
SNB’s total assets grew 10% in 2023 to just over SAR 1 trillion.
