Alinma Bank has announced net income at SR2,535 million for the year ended 2019. The net income for the year 2018, which was previously published, has been restated on the publication of the year 2019 profit from SR2,517 million to SR2,857 million, due to adding an amount of SR340 million to the net profit for 2018. The outcome was on account of the settlement agreement between the bank and the General Authority for Zakat and Income Tax, whereby all Zakat claims related to all prior years since inception up to 2017 stand settled and the refund of surplus Zakat amount to the bank, in addition to recognizing an amount of SR282 million as a Zakat expense for the year 2019. The above restatement together with the charging the Zakat to the net income were required due to the change in accounting policy for all the Saudi Financial Institutions during 2019 requiring the recognition of the Zakat and income tax in the statement of income instead of the statement of changes in shareholders' equity as was the case under the previous accounting policy. The restated net income for the year 2018 amounted SR2,857 million causing a decrease of 11% from the comparative year, accordingly the earning per share for year 2018 has also been restated from SR1.69 to 1.92. This restatement is non-reoccurring, and all the other financial indicators such as the total operating income, the financing portfolios, investments and total assets are showing remarkable growth and positive records during the year 2019. Notwithstanding above, the net income before Zakat gives a more realistic comparison, which has increased by 12% as a result of a 16% increase in total operating income mainly due to the higher income from financing and investment, fees & exchange income, and FVIS investment income. . Speaking about the financial results for the year 2019, Abdulmohsen Al-Fares, CEO and Managing Director of Alinma Bank, said the bank's performance is attributed to considerable growth in all major banking activities. He went on to summarize the results as follows: • During 2019, the bank's assets rose to SR131,839 million from SR121,538 million in 2018, an increase of 8%. • Total operating income for 2019 at SR5,610 million compared to SR4,845 million for 2018, an increase of 16%. • Net income from financing and investments for 2019 amounted to SR4,394 million compared to the SR3,798 million recorded during 2018, an increase of 16%. • The financing portfolio amounted to SR94,801 million as at December 31, 2019 compared to SR83,889 million as at December 31, 2018, an increase of 13%. • At the end of 2019, Customer deposits amounted to SR102,063 million compared to SR90,128 million in the previous year, an increase of 13%. The above numbers are showing remarkable growth and positive records being the highest achieved by the Bank since inception. Al-Fares further said the bank has shown steady growth over the past years with the launch of numerous new products for its retail, SMEs and corporate partners (customers) and with the expansion of its branch network, which now includes 166 branches across Saudi Arabia. Besides branches, Alinma also provides its services through an array of 24/7 electronic channels, including Alinma Internet (www.alinma.com), Alinma Mobile, Alinma Phone (8001208000), Alinma smartphone applications and a network of 1,523 advanced ATMs. — SG
