BankDhofar to raise authorised capital

At an extra ordinary general meeting on Monday, the shareholders have approved a plan to raise authorised capital to OMR500m.

MUSCAT: BankDhofar’s shareholders have approved a proposal to raise its authorised capital to OMR500 million from OMR220 million. The decision was taken at the bank’s extra ordinary general meeting on Monday.

The meeting also approved an updateofthesetupoftheEuroMedium Term Note (EMTN) programme, according to a press release.

The annual general meeting of shareholders also approved a proposed cash dividend of 13.5 per cent (13.5 baisa per share) and a bonus share issue of 7.5 per cent (75 shares per 1,000 shares) of the share capital of the bank.

The annual general meeting approved the corporate governance report, the report of the board of directors and the financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2016.

The net profit for 2016 achieved by the bank was OMR47.62 million as against OMR46.77 million in 2015, showing a marginal growth of 1.82 per cent year-on-year, according to the annual report. The key profitability indicators showed positive growth with net interest and financing income achieving growth of 8.26 per cent to reach OMR97.66 million for 2016, up from OMR90.21 million in 2015. Non-interest and non-financing income, such as fees and commission, foreign exchange profit, investment and other income have grown by 18.67 per cent to touch OMR29.69 million in 2016 from OMR25.02 million achieved in the previous year. This strong growth in the current market condition reinforces the trust and confidence of customers towards Bank Dhofar’s products and services.

The cost to income ratio in 2016 was managed at 44.58 per cent, compared with 44.43 per cent in 2015. The provision for loan impairment, net of recovery, during the year 2016 jumped to OMR14.56 million, from OMR8.78 million in the previous year.

Non-performing loans to gross loans and financing at bank level increased from 2.29 per cent on December 31, 2015 to 2.68 per cent on December 31, 2016.

The bank continued to grow in all key areas despite the current economic and financial situation driven by volatile oil prices in 2016. Net loans, advances and financing to customers reached OMR2.99 billion in December 2016, showing a significant growth of 9.52 per cent from OMR2.73 billion at the end of 2015.

Customer deposits mobilised by the bank surged 11.58 per cent from OMR2.59 billion at the end of 2015 to OMR2.89 billion at the end of 2016. Total assets touched OMR3.95 billion in December 2016, increasing from OMR3.59 billion at the end of 2015, reflecting a growth of 10.02 per cent.