MUSCAT: National Bank of Oman, the sultanate’s third-largest lender by assets, on January 12 posted a 29 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit. The lender made a net profit of 17.1 million rials ($44.4 million) in the three months to December 31, up from 13.2 million rials in the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations.
National Bank of Oman didn’t disclose a quarterly breakdown of its earnings in a stock exchange statement. Reuters calculated the figure based on the bank’s previous financial statements.
Two analysts polled by Reuters forecast the bank would make a quarterly net profit between 12.7 million rials and 15.0 million rials. It reported a net profit for 2015 of 60.1 million rials, up from 50.3 million rials in the previous year, a bourse filing showed.
Loans and advances stood at 2.53 billion rials as of December 31, 9 percent higher year-on-year, with customer deposits rising 3 percent over the same period to 2.25 billion rials.
The bank had recorded a significant outflow of deposits earlier in 2015, which analysts attributed to the impact of falling oil prices. In November, the lender priced a $300 million capital-boosting bond to maintain capital adequacy above the minimum requirement.
