Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia-based Alawwal Bank on Tuesday reported a 23% year-on-year profit decline in the third quarter of 2018, reaching SAR 281 million ($74.91 million), compared to SAR 363 million ($96.78 million).

The bank attributed the third-quarter profit drop to a 5.7% decline in operating income, coupled with a 4.9% rise in operating expenses, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

Revenues for special commissions and investments fell 3% to SAR 952.6 million during Q3-18, from SAR 977.7 million a year earlier.

Net income for special commissions and investments fell 3% to SAR 692.1 million from July to September this year, compared to SAR 712.8 million in the same three months last year.

Quarter-on-quarter, the Saudi lender's profits rose 11% during the three-month period ended September, from SAR 253.6 million.

During the first nine months of 2018, Alawwal Bank’s profits retreated 19% to SAR 820.6 million, from SAR 1.1 billion in the same period a year before.

The Saudi lender attributed the nine-month profit drop to a 5.9% decrease in operating income, along with a 1.4% growth in operating expenses.

Year-on-year, value of revenues for special commissions and investment slid 6% to SAR 2.75 billion by the end of September, from SAR 2.94 billion.

Net income for special commissions and investments dipped 1.4% to SAR 2.03 billion by the end of the nine-month period, compared to SAR 2.06 billion a year before.

From January to September this year, the bank’s assets slumped 17.1% to SAR 84 billion, from SAR 101.4 billion in the same period of 2017.

“Our core business has performed well during a challenging period of economic activity. We have improved in some important areas, increasing profitability and cost controls, while at the same time stabilizing our loan book,” the bank’s managing director Soren Nikolajsen said.

Alawwal Bank’s stock inched down 0.67% to close Tuesday's trading session at SAR 15.