Al Rajhi Bank Q3 profit rises 11.7% to record SAR7.1bn

Al Rajhi Bank Q3 profit rose 11.7% to a record SAR7.11 billion ($1.9 billion) in the three months to 30 September, the Saudi Islamic lender said in a Tadawul filing on Wednesday.

Net profit attributable to shareholders compared with SAR6.36 billion a year earlier and SAR7.01 billion in the second quarter, a 1.3% sequential gain. Nine-month profit climbed 13.3% to SAR20.87 billion ($5.6 billion), lifting earnings per share to SAR3.27 from SAR2.90.

Total operating income rose 12.5% year on year to SAR11.12 billion ($2.96 billion) in the quarter. Net income from financing jumped 20.3% to SAR7.66 billion, while net income from investments edged up 3.2% to SAR955 million, according to the filing.

Financing income drives Al Rajhi Bank Q3 profit

The bank attributed the rise to higher net financing and investment income and banking service fees, partly offset by lower other operating income and exchange income. Operating expenses, including impairment charges, rose 15.2% on higher general, administrative and staff costs.

The impairment charge for financing increased to SAR852 million from SAR570 million a year earlier, although it eased from SAR881 million in the second quarter. For the nine months, impairments rose 39.5% to SAR2.36 billion ($630 million), with gross charges up 20.9%.

Al Rajhi’s margin widened 6 basis points quarter on quarter to 3.52% and its cost-to-income ratio improved to 21.2%, according to Investing.com’s analysis of the Al Rajhi results. Return on equity stood at 18.5%, with loan growth supported by large corporate and SME lending.

Total assets reached SAR1.08 trillion ($287 billion) at the end of September, up 1.8% year on year. The financing portfolio grew 2.5% to SAR774.9 billion ($207 billion) and customer deposits rose 0.9% to SAR700.3 billion ($187 billion), while shareholders’ equity increased 12.5% to SAR154.5 billion.

Saudi banks Q3 2026 earnings rise 5.3%

Al Rajhi’s result was the strongest among six Saudi lenders that have reported so far, whose combined third-quarter profit rose 5.3% to SAR19.83 billion ($5.29 billion), according to Arab News calculations. Combined nine-month profit climbed 7.7% to SAR58.79 billion.

Saudi National Bank posted SAR6.45 billion, down 0.3%, as expected credit loss charges rose to SAR323 million from SAR231 million. Riyad Bank earned SAR2.87 billion, up 6.6%, while Alinma Bank slipped 0.2% to SAR1.59 billion on lower fee and investment income and higher provisions.

Arab National Bank reported SAR1.35 billion, up 1.7%, and Bank AlJazira grew fastest, up 17.9% to SAR471.6 million, with its loan book expanding 14.4% to SAR123.37 billion. The six banks’ combined loan portfolio stood at about SAR2.5 trillion, up 5.4% year on year.

The Al Rajhi Bank Q3 profit beat expectations. The SAR7.11 billion profit was about 2% above consensus and the shares rose 0.8% after the announcement, Investing.com reported, while Argaam’s estimates monitor had pointed to SAR6.87 billion.

Why it matters for Tadawul earnings

Banks are among the heaviest weightings on the Saudi index, so their Tadawul earnings set the tone for the market. The results arrive after foreign investors withdrew a record $2.3 billion from GCC markets in the third quarter, according to Kamco Invest.

Rising impairments across the sector are the main watch point. Ahmed Chreim, a global financial markets expert quoted by Arab News, said the results “reflect normal variation in business mix rather than a sector-wide concern”. He argued that provisions should be read alongside loan growth and repayment performance rather than in isolation.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Qatar Islamic Bank reported a 2% rise in nine-month profit to QAR3.5 billion, pointing to steady but slower growth among the region’s Islamic lenders.

Attention now turns to the remaining Saudi lenders’ third-quarter numbers and to Al Rajhi’s board renewal, with a new three-year term due to start on 14 November 2026, according to exchange announcements. The bank declared an interim dividend for the first half and completed a dollar-denominated Tier 2 sukuk issuance in September.

The external auditor issued an unmodified conclusion on the interim statements, and some comparative items were reclassified. The full figures are in the Al Rajhi Bank nine-month 2026 results filing.