Last checked at 26 Apr 2010 11:18
BankMuscat posts impressive performance as Q1 net profit touches
RO 24.5 million
MUSCAT, 26 April 2010 - The Board of Directors of BankMuscat under the chairmanship of Sheikh AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili on Monday (26 April 2010) approved the financial results for the first three months ending 31 March 2010. The key business lines of the Bank recorded impressive performance during the period in question.
The Bank achieved a net profit of RO 24.5 million for the first quarter 2010 as compared to RO 48.4 million during the same period in 2009. Net profit for Q1'09 included RO 35.3 million of post-tax gain on sale of HDFC Bank investment and RO 7.5 million losses on available-for-sale investment portfolio. Excluding these one-off items, the adjusted net profit for Q1'09 was RO 20.6 million. Thus, on a like to like comparison, the net profit for Q1'10 shows an increase of 18.9 per cent over Q1'09.
Sheikh AbdulMalik said: "The Board of Directors welcomes and supports the measures taken by the Central Bank of Oman and the Capital Market Authority to strengthen the financial market in the Sultanate. The foresight and market-friendly policies adopted by His Majesty's Government have helped the Bank to record encouraging results."
Net interest income increased by 12 per cent to RO 44.4 million during Q1'10 from RO 39.6 million during the corresponding period in 2009. Non-interest income was higher by 15 per cent compared to Q1'09, excluding the gain on HDFC Bank investment and realised losses on Available-for-Sale investment. Operating expenses for Q1'10 at RO 24.6 million increased by 15.5 per cent as compared to the same period in 2009. Increase in operating expense is attributable to expansion of delivery channels, investment in technology and increase in manpower cost.
Impairment for credit losses for the three-month period in 2010 was RO 11.8 million as against RO 11.2 million, an increase of RO 0.6 million. Recoveries from impairment for credit losses was RO 2.8 million during Q1'10 as against RO 1.7 million in Q1'09. Share of profit from associates was RO 0.7 million as against a share of loss of RO 0.3 million reported in Q1'09.
Gross loans and advances increased by 3 per cent to RO 4,032 million as against RO 3,916 million in Q1'09. Customer deposits, including CDs, increased by 12.5 per cent to RO 3,628 million as against RO 3,225 million in Q1'09. Savings deposits witnessed a strong growth of 11% from RO 720 million as at 31 March 2009 to RO 802 million as at 31 March 2010. The Bank would continue to focus on savings and demand deposits to improve the net interest margin.