SAMUEL KUTTY -
MUSCAT, JAN 30 -
Most banks in Oman propose to pay attractive dividends even though the profits have not shown sizeable rise in the past quarters.
Credit to the private sector increased by 11 per cent to RO 19.7 billion as at the end of November 2016.
Bank Muscat proposed a 30 per cent dividend for the year 2016. While the board of directors has proposed 25 per cent cash dividend, the remaining 5 per cent is in the form of bonus shares.
The bank posted a net profit of RO 176.56 million in 2016 compared to RO 175.45 million reported in 2015, an increase of 0.6 per cent.
At the current levels, based on the cash dividends, the dividend yield works out to be 5.4 per cent.
The board of directors of HSBC Oman proposed a cash dividend of RO 0.005 per share (the nominal value per share of RO0.100) amounting to RO10 million for the full year 2016.
The annual financial results proposed cash dividends for the year ended 31 December 2016 are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Oman and the shareholders of the bank.
At the current levels, based on the cash dividends the dividend yield works out to be 4 per cent.
The bank’s net profit increased by 31 per cent to RO16.9 million, compared to RO12.9 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, due to higher operating income and lower operating expenses partly offset by higher loan impairment charges.
The Board of Bank Sohar will pay a cash dividend of 5 per cent of the share capital, which is 5 baisas per share and a stock dividend of 10 per cent of the share capital, i.e., 10 shares for every 100 shares held.
At the current levels, based on the cash dividends, the dividend yield works out to be 3.2 per cent levels
The bank has achieved a net profit of RO 19.112 million for the year 2016 as compared to a net profit of RO 27.746 million in the year 2015. The board of directors of the National Bank of Oman, while approving the financial statements, recommended a cash dividend of 15.92 per cent and stock shares of 5 per cent (1 share for every 20 shares held) of the paid up capital of the bank.
Based on the announced cash dividends, the yield works out to be 6.6 per cent levels, which is the highest among the local banks.
Meanwhile, the board of Bank Dhofar mooted a cash dividend of 13.5 per cent and bonus share issue of 7.5 per cent as 2016 dividends.
A resolution to approve these distributions will be presented to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to be held on March 27, 2017.
At the current levels, based on the cash dividends, the yield works out to be 5.4 per cent. Ahli Bank’s board proposed a cash dividend of 10 per cent, while approving the 2016 results.
The bank’s net profit increasing by 6.9 per cent year on year to RO 29.6 million. At the current levels, the dividend yield works out to be 5.3 per cent.
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