Alinma Q3 profit slips as credit provisions jump 56%

Summary

• Alinma Bank booked 4.86 billion riyals in nine-month profit, up 4%, with quarterly earnings down.
• Third-quarter credit-loss provisions rose 56% to 400 million riyals, outpacing lending growth of 12%.
• The shares fell 5.66% as asset-quality costs cut into one of Saudi Arabia's fastest-growing lenders.

The latest

Credit-loss provisions at Alinma Bank jumped 56% in the third quarter to 400 million riyals, pushing quarterly net profit marginally lower even as the loan book expanded. The lender reported 4,862 million riyals in nine-month net profit attributable to shareholders, a 4.037% increase, in a filing to the Saudi Exchange on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. Its shares were down 5.66%.

Details

• The headline number: Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 4,862 million riyals for the nine months ended 30 September 2026, against 4,673.3 million riyals a year earlier, a rise of 4.037%, according to the Saudi Exchange filing. That is roughly 1.30 billion dollars at the pegged rate of 3.75.
• The quarterly slip: Third-quarter net profit came in at 1,588.3 million riyals, down 0.232% from 1,592 million riyals in the same quarter of 2025 and down 0.432% from 1,595.2 million riyals in the preceding quarter. It is a shallow decline, but it breaks against nine-month growth.
• Provisions: Total expected credit-loss and other-loss provisions climbed to 400 million riyals in the quarter from 256.3 million riyals, a 56.067% increase. Over nine months, provisions reached 955.7 million riyals, up 25.107% — the single sharpest-moving line in the disclosure.
• The bank's explanation: Alinma attributed the quarterly decline to lower banking services fee income, lower fair-value investment valuation income and lower other operating income, alongside the higher credit-loss provisions. Partly offsetting those were higher net financing and investment income and higher foreign-currency translation income.
• Operating income: Total operating profit rose 6.131% to 9,259.9 million riyals over the nine months, growing faster than the 4.037% bottom line. The gap between the two lines is where provisioning and the softer fee and valuation income absorbed the gains.
• Earnings per share: Earnings per share edged down to 1.42 riyals from 1.43 riyals a year earlier, despite the higher absolute profit — a divergence that points to a wider share base rather than weaker core earnings.
• The balance sheet: Total assets stood at 341,415.3 million riyals, up 11.132%. Loans and advances reached 252,710.4 million riyals, up 11.975%, and customer deposits 251,916 million riyals, up 7.37%. Total equity rose 10.529% to 52,466.6 million riyals.
• Funding gap: Lending grew nearly 12% while deposits grew 7.37%, leaving the loan book marginally above the deposit base at the end of September. The disclosure did not break down how the funding differential was covered.
• Market reaction: The disclosure page recorded the stock down 5.66% at the time of viewing, a move far larger than the fraction-of-a-percent decline in quarterly profit, indicating investors read the provisioning line rather than the earnings line.

Between the lines

The quarterly profit drop is negligible on its own; the provisioning jump is not. Alinma is expanding credit at close to 12% a year, and provisions rising 56% in a quarter against that growth is the figure the market priced when the shares fell 5.66%. Fee and valuation income softening at the same time removes the buffer that normally absorbs higher provisioning.

What's next

Full audited third-quarter financials with the detailed provisioning breakdown and non-performing loan ratios are the next disclosure to watch, along with whether fourth-quarter provisions stay near the 400 million riyal level.

Source: Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) — Alinma Bank disclosure