Driven by better performance of conventional as well as Islamic banking divisions, Sohar International on Sunday reported a 17.16 per cent increase in its net profit at RO34.4mn for the financial year ended on December 31, 2019.
The bank announced its unaudited preliminary financial results for 2019 on Sunday. The unaudited financial results are subject to approval of, board of directors, and the Central Bank of Oman, the bank said in a filing with the Muscat Securities Market.
Sohar International had reported a net profit of RO29.366mn in 2018. The results were supported by an over two fold increase in the profitability of its Islamic banking division. The Islamic banking division of Sohar International reported a whopping 180 per cent rise in its net profit for the year 2019 at RO1.5mn compared to RO537,000 it registered in the previous year. The conventional banking division also reported a 14.11 per cent increase in profit at RO32.89mn for 2019 as against RO28.82mn in the previous year.
Another highlight of the bank’s performance in 2019 was its ability to increase the total assets by over 15 per cent to RO3.51bn as compared to RO3.05bn in the corresponding period a year ago.
During the year under consideration, the bank’s operating
income rose by 10.82 per cent to RO104.66mn as against RO94.43mn in the corresponding year. Similarly, net loans and advances by Sohar International also went up nearly 9 per cent to RO2.45bn as compared to RO2.25bn in 2018.
The bank has also reported a 15.34 per cent increase in deposits from customers to RO2.09bn in 2019 as against RO1.81bn in the corresponding period previous year. Sohar International’s operating expenses for year 2019 also went up by 13.54 per cent to RO45.28mn compared to RO39.88mn reported in 2018.
