RIYADH: Arab National Bank, one of the top lenders in Saudi Arabia, reported a 41 percent surge in net profit to SR3.07 billion ($820 million) for 2022 – up from SR2.17 billion a year earlier. “This increase is mainly due to an increase in net special commission income, net exchange income, dividend income, net fees and commission income, net other operating income, net trading income and a decrease in the net impairment charge for expected credit losses,” the company said in a statement to Saudi Stock Exchange. It further added that the net income was, however, “offset by an increase in other general and administrative expenses, salaries and employee-related expenses. The other factors that impacted its net income include depreciation and amortization, rent and premises-related expenses. The bank also said that it recorded decreases in net gains on the sale of investments in non-trading instruments and net gains on financial instruments held at fair value through statement of income. The total comprehensive income of the bank rose 6 percent to SR2.6 billion in 2022 from SR2.44 in 2021. Earnings per share also increased to SR2.05 last year from SR1.45 in the prior year. While assets increased 10.5 percent to SR212 billion between January and December 2022, investments dropped 7.34 percent to about SR42 billion during the same period last year. The bank also posted a 73 percent jump in its net profit to SR790.05 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 from SR456.35 million in the same period last year. However, its net profit between October and December 2022 fell 14.2 percent from SR921.11 million earned in the third quarter of last year. At 12 p.m. Riyadh time, ANB’s share price had gained 3.65 percent to SR26.95. In another announcement, Saudi Arabia’s United Electronics Co. posted a 10.9 percent increase in net profit after zakat and tax to SR440.2 million for 2022 from SR396.8 million a year earlier. The home appliance retailer, also known as eXtra, told the Saudi Stock Exchange that the profit growth was spurred by higher revenues from consumer finance and its customer service program. Gross profit also grew by 6.9 percent to SR1.26 billion, which impacted the company’s net profit growth. However, its earnings per share fell 3.8 percent to SR1.58 in 2022 from SR1.52 in 2021. Its net profit after zakat and tax also dropped 4 percent to SR121.3 in the fourth quarter of 2022 from SR126.14 during the same period last year, mainly hit by the shifting of the annual “mega sale” discount festival to the second quarter instead of the fourth quarter. The company also fared better in quarter-on-quarter performance as its net profit leaped 28.9 percent from SR94.16 million reported between July and September this year.