MUSCAT: Oman HSBC bank raised up by a net profit of RO12.2m for the year ended 31 December 2014, which represented a 12% increase over the previous year.
Net operating income before loan impairment charges increased by 3.3 per cent to OMR71 million compared to OMR68.7 million for the year ended December 2013. Net interest income increased by 1.7 per cent to OMR48.9 million, up from OMR48.1 million in 2013. Net fee income increased by 9.6 per cent to OMR12.6 million compared to OMR11.5 million for the year ended December 2013.
The board of directors approved the bank’s 2014 annual financial results and dividend payout, subject to approval of the Central Bank of Oman and shareholders of the bank at the annual general meeting. The board proposed a cash dividend of 55 baisas a share, amounting to OMR11 million for the full year 2014.
David Eldon, chairman of HSBC Bank Oman, said, “At our annual general meeting last year, we talked about how we had spent a lot of time and effort putting in place a stronger foundation for the future as we continue on our journey to become the leading bank in Oman.”
“I am pleased that through the implementation of our strategy, we have been able to evidence this in these results, by growth in our revenues and diligently managing our costs, along with strong growth in the balance sheet through a noticeable increase in loans and advances to our customers. This has been achieved within a framework of delivering excellence in customer service at all times,” he added.
“HSBC Bank Oman is a proud local bank, and one that has a unique advantage in its ability to combine local expertise with HSBC Group’s international connectivity. Our customers have benefited from this compelling proposition and this is something we will continue to exploit.
In 2014, we saw the positive results of our more focused customer-centric way of serving customers in our retail banking & wealth management business, with good levels of customer acquisition, particularly in key customer segments of advance and premier, coupled with similarly strong growth in asset acquisition,” commented Andrew Long, chief executive officer of HSBC Bank Oman.
On the corporate side, our local expertise combined with our international capabilities enabled us to drive strong growth in new deals with customers.
In support of the national people agenda, we have strengthened our management team by appointing Omani talent in two general manager roles. We have continued to invest in further enhancements to our already comprehensive digital banking proposition and also recognised the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the future of Oman’s economy by launching our International Growth Fund, to which we committed OMR 20 million for Oman’s international and internationally aspirant SMEs. I am also delighted that during the year, our staff volunteered over 860 hours of support to various corporate sustainability initiatives, demonstrating the importance we attribute to the communities in which we operate across the Sultanate of Oman.
