Kingdom Holding (KHC), owned by Saudi billionaire Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal, has reported a 20.8 percent rise in its second-quarter net
profit, thanks mostly to income from investments and dividends.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that its
quarterly earnings rose to SR163.5m ($43.6m), having reported a net profit of SR135.4m
a year earlier.
“The increase in net profit is due to a rise in the
company’s profits from investments and dividends of its investment in capital
markets,” Kingdom said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website.
Kingdom Holding, an investment company that has minority
stakes in some of the world’s top companies, is a main shareholder in Citigroup.
The statement said there was a “low performance of
associated companies and hotel operators as a result of current events in the
Middle East”, in an apparent reference to the political unrest in the
region.
The statement did not elaborate, but the company reported
that operating profit rose just 4.7 percent to SR183.5m in the second quarter.
“I am confident that the outlook for the company’s
continuing profitability is promising especially in so far as the real estate
developments in Saudi Arabia,” chief financial officer Shadi Sanbar said
in the statement.
“KHC is poised to capitalise on financial and strategic
opportunities as they come up.”
Follow us on
