Mr. Abdullah bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Rajhi Bank, announced that the bank achieved a net income in the first quarter of the current year 2022, amounting to SAR 4,134 million, compared to SAR 3,335 million for the first quarter of the previous year, with an increase rate of 24%. The total operating income increased for the first quarter by 17% to SAR 6,957 million, as a result of the growth in net income from financing and investments, banking services fees and brokerage activities.

Al Rajhi explained that the bank’s financial results showed that shareholders’ equity rose to SAR 72 billion, compared to SAR 59 billion in the previous year, with an increase of 21%, and total assets reached SAR 658 billion, with an increase of about 28%, customers' deposits also increased by 21% to reach SAR 508 billion. The rate of return on assets and shareholders' equity increased to 2.6% and 23.8%, respectively, and the profit per share during the period became SAR 1.65. He added that the strong growth achieved by the bank in the financing portfolio was accompanied by a high coverage of non-performing loans by 308%.

Al Rajhi expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the bank’s customers for their consistent loyalty, trust and interaction with the developments achieved by the bank during the last period, especially in the field of digital banking, and providing financing products that meet their needs. He also thanked the bank's employees for their efforts in achieving these outstanding results.

The Chairman added that the bank witnessed during the first quarter of this year multiple achievements and succeeded in achieving record numbers related to the issuance of SAR denominated Tier 1 Sukuk which was through a private placement inside Saudi Arabia to support the bank’s capital base, as the number of investors in the Sukuk from eligible individuals and institutions reached over 700 investors.

Al Rajhi added, "Among the bank's achievements is the launch of the new upgraded version of the Al Rajhi Bank application, in order to provide digital banking services, in a flexible manner, using the latest designs and customer experience of its kind."

The Chairman also added that the great efforts made by the bank’s management in the field of investor relations resulted in the bank's winning of the Best Investor Relations Program Award as part of the Saudi Capital Market Awards for the year 2021. He said: “We were very pleased with the award that we achieved for the second year in a row, as previously the bank won it in 2020."

As for social responsibility, Abdullah Al Rajhi said that the first quarter witnessed a large participation of the bank in supporting charitable work through the Ehsan platform, a donation of seven million riyals was made to the second national campaign for charitable work launched by the wise leadership. The bank also signed an agreement with the Disabled Children Association, under which the bank will support the operation of the association’s integrated clinic for a full year for the second year in a row. This is also considered as one of the sustainable social responsibility projects that the bank offers and is keen on.”

Al Rajhi stressed on the bank’s commitment to participate in the realization of the Kingdom’s vision 2030 by actively contributing to the development of a diversified and vital financial sector, to support the development of the national economy, diversify its sources of income, and stimulate savings, financing and investment.

Al Rajhi concluded his statement by emphasizing that the bank’s financial and digital developments, and the growth rates it achieved, have attracted foreign investors, as the percentage of their ownership of the bank’s shares exceeded 13%, making it one of the largest companies listed in the Saudi market in terms of foreign ownership to contribute to increasing foreign investments in the Kingdom, which is one of the Saudi Vision 2030 goals.

This article is only available in Arabic

*this article is only available in Arabic