Saudi's Kingdom Holding Q1 profit rises 12.7%

[DUBAI] Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding , the investment firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, posted a 12.7 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Sunday from higher income and gains on investments.

Net profit of 129.1 million riyals(S$48.3 million) in the three months ending Mar. 31, versus 114.5 million riyals a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.

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 stakes in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and microblogging site Twitter .

Like other Saudi companies, Kingdom Holding began reporting its results under international IFRS accounting standards this year, so some of its figures for last year were restated.

REUTERS