Oman's NBO Q4 net falls 16%, misses estimates

Fourth-quarter net profit at National Bank of Oman, the sultanate's second largest lender by assets, dropped 16 per cent on Sunday, missing analysts' forecasts, Reuters calculations show.

The bank made a quarterly net profit of 5.5 million rials ($14.3 million), Reuters calculated, compared with 6.54 million rials in the same period in 2009.

Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated an average fourth quarter profit of 7.6 million rials for the fourth-quarter.

Reuters calculated quarterly profit from previous financial statements. The bank reported net profit of 21.7 million rials in the nine months to Sept 30 last year.

NBO reported a full-year net profit of 27.2 million rials, it said in a bourse statement on Sunday.

Net loans and advances in 2010 were almost flat from the previous year at 1.36 billion rials, while customer deposits rose 5.1 per cent, the statement said.

Shares of the company closed 0.9 per cent higher on the Muscat bourse prior to the results.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.