Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding, the investment firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, posted a 10.3 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, on the back of higher income from dividends and associates.
Kingdom made a net profit of 139.4 million riyals ($37.2 million) in the three months to March 31, compared to 126.4 million riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.
It attributed the increase to rising income from dividends and associates, as well as to a fall in finance charges.
The investment firm has minority stakes in some of the world’s top companies. Aside from being one of the largest shareholders in Citigroup, it owns a stake in microblogging site Twitter.
In February, Kingdom sold a 5.6 percent stake in media giant News Corp as part of a portfolio review, generating 705 million riyals in cash. It retains 1 percent of the media company.