Riyadh – Mubasher: Riyad Bank on Tuesday stated that its net profits soared 232.42% in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to the year-ago period.

The Saudi Arabia-based lender’s profits jumped to SAR 974 million during Q4-17, from SAR 293 million in the same period a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.

Quarter-on-quarter, the bank's profits tumbled 9.56%.

The kingdom's fourth-largest lender by assets attributed the increase in its year-on-year net profits to a 29.2% drop in operating expenses due to a decline in the impairment charge for credit losses.

Over the course of the last year, Riyad bank’s earnings rose 18.07% to SAR 3.95 billion, up from SAR 3.34 billion a year earlier.

The bank’s stock went up 2.18%, closing Tuesday at SAR 13.60.