Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi British Bank (SABB) on Tuesday reported a 16.31% year-on-year hike in net profits for the fourth quarter of 2017.

The lender's net profits rose to SAR 706 million during Q4-17 versus SAR 607 million in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The kingdom's sixth-largest bank by assets attributed the growth of net profits to a 4.4% rise in operating income on the back of higher net special commission income and a 2.2% decrease in operating expenses.

SABB’s net profits levelled up 1.54% to SAR 3.96 billion for the full year 2017, compared to SAR 3.9 billion in the year before.

SABB’s stock grew 1.33%, closing Monday at SAR 29.79.