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Samba Financial Group Posts Net Profit of SR4.6 billion in 2009

JEDDAH — Samba Financial Group has posted a net profit of SR4.6 billion in 2009, according to Eissa Al-Eissa, the bank chairman.

“This result emphasises the strength of the group’s performance and its ability to overcome the challenges confronting the banking and financial sector at global and regional levels,” he said in Riyadh on Monday.

“Our balance sheet is based on strong foundations, backed by capital adequacy and sound regulatory ratios characterised by high liquidity and balanced investment strategies, which resulted in downsizing overall risks and driving the bank’s growth across all key sectors including retail, corporate, treasury and investment,” Al-Eissa said.

Samba received 18 international awards in 2009, which has enhanced its status and reputation as the most accredited and recognised financial institution in the Middle East, he said. It was named the ‘Best Bank in Saudi Arabia’ and ‘Best Investment Bank in the Middle East’ by Global Finance. Al-Eissa said Samba’s total assets grew by four percent to SR186 billion, compared to SR179 billion in 2008. Investments grew by two percent to reach SR55 billion while customer deposits rose by 10 per cent to SR147 billion during 2009.

Net profits have risen 2.4 per cent over the previous year, while net profits for the fourth quarter of 2009 amounted to SR835 million, compared to SR826 million in the same period of 2008, a 1.1 per cent increase.

Total revenues rose from SR7 billion in 2008 to SR7.1 billion in 2009 — an increase of 1.4 per cent. Earnings per share rose to SR5.1 from SR4.9. As a result, Samba was successful in increasing the revenue/expense ratio to 3.64 per cent compared with 3.3 per cent last year. The bank’s loan/deposit ratio stood at 57.2 per cent, which according to the chairman “confirms our ability to generate sufficient liquidity from customer deposits to fund the growth of our assets, and at the same time provide sufficient resources to take advantage of future growth opportunities in 2010.”

“These positive results and our continued growth, especially at a time when markets are still recovering from the effect of world financial crisis, reflect the increasing confidence of customers in Samba,” Al-Eissa said Samba continues to enjoy strong capitalisation as demonstrated by the shareholders equity, which amounted to SR22.5 billion in 2009, compared to SR20 billion the previous year, an increase of 12.5 per cent. In the first half of 2009, it distributed SR875 million in dividends, at ninety halalas per share after deducting Zakat. “All credit rating agencies including Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Rating and Capital Intelligence have given favorable credit ratings for Samba, which signifies the high performance and consistent financial results of the bank,” Al-Eissa said.

· habib@khaleejtimes.com