Sunday 15 / December / 2024
Muscat: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in Oman, has proposed a 15.5 per cent dividend for the year 2023.
The meeting of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the bank, chaired by Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani, Chairman, on Monday, January 29, 2024, approved the 2023 financial results and dividend payout, subject to the formal approval of the Annual General Meeting of the shareholders and regulatory authorities.
The Board of Directors has proposed a 15.5 per cent cash dividend for the year 2023. Shareholders would receive a cash dividend of OMR0.0155 per ordinary share aggregating to OMR116.349 million on the Bank’s existing share capital. The bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) after the cash dividend payout will be 21.22 percent which is well above the regulatory minimum.
The bank’s net profit for the year ended 31 December 2023, increased by 5.8 per cent, to reach OMR212.45 million from OMR200.75 million in 2022, mainly due to improvement in the operating performance.
Net interest income from conventional banking and net income from Islamic financing stood at OMR374.82 million for the year ended 31 December 2023 compared to OMR344.86 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of 8.7 per cent. The bank was successful in dynamic balance sheet and liquidity management during the year, which resulted in enhanced net interest income.
Non-interest income reached OMR138.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2023 as compared to OMR135.18 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of 2.1 per cent. Excluding the one-time investment gain of around OMR8 million during 2022, the non-interest income increased by 8.6 per cent compared to the previous year, driven by various business lines within the bank.
Operating expenses for the year ended 31 December 2023 was OMR196.39 million as compared to OMR184.52 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of 6.4 per cent.
Net impairment for credit and other losses for the year ended 31 December 2023 was OMR64.66 million as against OMR59.94 million for the same period in 2022. The bank continued its prudent and proactive approach towards healthy asset quality and provision levels. As at 31 December 2023, the total provisions of the Bank stood at 1.6 times of the Non-performing loans providing strong provision coverage.
Net loans and advances including Islamic financing receivables increased by 4.9 per cent to OMR9,877 million as against OMR9,417 million as at 31 December 2022. Loan and financing growth was driven across by corporate, retail and islamic banking segments.
