Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia made 19% more profit in 2024, reaching $5.3 billion, which helped increase its market value
Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia reported a 19% increase in its net profit for 2024, reaching $5.3 billion (SAR 19.7 billion). This exceeded analysts’ expectations, thanks to higher income from financing and investments.
Financial Performance
The bank’s results were better than the expected $5 billion (SAR 18.7 billion), based on LSEG data. Total income grew 16% to $8.5 billion (SAR 32 billion), helped by a 17% increase in the financing portfolio and a 31% rise in investments.
Provisions for potential credit losses went up 41% from last year to $559.9 million (SAR 2.1 billion). Total assets grew 20% to $251.7 billion (SAR 944 billion). Loans and advances increased by 16.7% to $184.8 billion (SAR 693 billion), while customer deposits grew 9.6% to $167.5 billion (SAR 628 billion).
Al Rajhi Bank’s earnings per share were $1.3 (SAR 4.67), up from $1.05 (SAR 3.95) a year earlier. The bank also announced a second-half dividend of $0.39 (SAR 1.46) per share, up from $0.31 (SAR 1.15) last year.
Gulf Markets
Most stock markets in the Gulf were lower on Wednesday, as many companies reported disappointing earnings. However, Saudi Arabia’s stock index (TASI) rose by 0.8%, helped by a 3.5% increase in Al Rajhi Bank’s shares after its good results. Later in the day, the index dropped by 0.13% as Al Rajhi Bank’s shares fell by 2.8%.
Dubai’s main index (DFMGI) dropped 1%, hurt by an 8.4% fall in Emirates NBD, which had its worst drop in nearly five years. Emirates NBD reported a profit of $1.1 billion (AED 4 billion) in the fourth quarter, which was a little lower than last year’s and below analysts’ expectations.
The Abu Dhabi index (FTFADGI) fell 0.3%, mainly because of a 1.02% drop in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), after it reported a decrease in annual profit to $400.3 million (AED 1.5 billion) from $408.5 million (AED 1.5 billion) the previous year.
Meanwhile, Saudi Telecom Company (stc) went up 0.7% after announcing a $8.7 billion (SAR 32.6 billion) contract from a government agency to develop and run telecom infrastructure.
In Qatar, the index (QSI) fell 0.4%, led by a 2.4% drop in Qatar Gas Transport (Nakilat), after it cut its annual dividend. The company, which is the world’s biggest LNG shipper, reported a profit of $450.2 million (QAR 1.64 billion), up from $428.2 million (QAR 1.56 billion) last year.
Recent Developments
In mid-January, Al Rajhi Bank issued $1.5 billion in US dollar-denominated sustainable sukuk.
Earlier in May 2024, the bank issued $1 billion in sustainable sukuk, offering a return of 6.375% per year, which was lower than the original offer of 6.875%.
In March, the bank raised another $1 billion through five-year sukuk, offering a 5.047% return per year.
Published: 30th January 2025
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