The Saudi British Bank announces first quarter 2002 results

This represents an increase of 20.1 per cent over the same period in 2001. Operating income (excluding gains on investments) of SAR428.1 million (US$114.2 million) increased by 8.1 per cent compared to the quarter ended 31 March 2001, and was broad based with satisfactory contributions from all business segments. Earnings per share increased to SAR5.87 (US$1.57) compared to SAR4.89 (US$1.30) for the first quarter of 2001.

Customer deposits increased to SAR32.1 billion (US$8.6 billion) at 31 March 2002, up 6.3 per cent on last year. Loans and advances to customers, at SAR17.3 billion (US$4.6 billion), were 6.1 per cent higher.

"We are proud that The Consulting Center for Finance and Investment named us the best performing bank in the field of mutual funds, based on their survey of the market. In the survey, we achieved the highest number of top rankings for various categories of mutual funds offered by Saudi banks."

"While current economic conditions require strict cost discipline, we continue to invest in upgrading our customer service and delivery systems in line with the increased customer focus of our new strategic plan."

"We thank our customers for their steadfast support and our staff for their dedicated efforts during the period," said David Hodgkinson, Managing Director.