Acting CEO says the bank has grown from strength to strength
Muscat, October 31, 2014: Bank Sohar registered an increase in net profit by 31.14%. The net profit amount stood at OMR23.749mn as on September 30,2014.
The net interest income saw a jump of 15.06%, increasing from OMR 31.842mn in Q3 of last year to OMR 36.637mn for the same period this year. Commenting on the results, Rashad bin Ali Al Musafir, acting CEO of Bank Sohar, said the results of the third quarter were strong. “We sustained our culture of superior performance and operational excellence, driven essentially by our staff, technology and excellent customer services. With such a strong financial standing at the end of the third quarter, we are very confident in our ability to sustain this strong performance and growth trend into the fourth quarter of the year,” he said.
The bank’s operating expenses went up by 13.71% to OMR22.872mn. Despite the increase in expenses, the cost to income ratio has reduced from 46.98% in 2013 to 42.94% this year.
“Over the years we, as a bank, have grown from strength-to-strength with each passing year, as we continue to grow our client base and invest in the future by expanding our products and services, enhancing our productivity and capabilities, and selectively adding talented new colleagues to the Bank Sohar team. As a result the bank continues to generate premium value and returns to all stakeholders. Such continued success no doubt stems from the wise guidance of our Board of Directors and the professionalism and efficiency of our management team and staff,” added Rashad Al Musafir.
As a testament to its success, Bank Sohar has won a slew of awards locally, regionally, and internationally in 2014. Among its accolades, the bank has received ‘Best Financial Brand Oman 2014’ award by renowned UK based Global Brands Magazine, ‘The Diamond Eye Award for Quality, Commitment & Excellence’ from the French based Otherways Management & Consulting Association, ‘Strategic Award’ for its corporate website (www.banksohar.net) from the Lebanon based Pan Arab Excellence Awards Academy as well as from Oman Web Awards. The Bank was also named the ‘Fastest Growing Bank in Oman 2014’ by UK based International Finance Magazine (IFM) and recognized as one of the ‘Top 5 Large Corporate Enterprises in the Sultanate’ for the third consecutive year at the Alam Al IktisadWalAmaal (AIWA) Awards. Bank Sohar is also the only entity from Oman to have won three individual awards from the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2014 organized by CPI Financial based in UAE, for its Retail Division consisting of ‘Best Customer Service – Retail Banking’, ‘Best Cash Management’ and ‘Best Corporate Card’. On the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) front, the Bank’s year-long environment awareness campaign ‘Saving Water Electricity… And Our Planet’ was also recognized at the ‘Oman Green Award 2014’ resulting in the Bank receiving the ‘Green Campaign of the Year’ award. More recently, the Bank also won the ‘Business Excellence Award’ at the Bizz Arabic 2014 Awards and was once again recognized as one of the best ‘Straight Through Processing’ (STP) banks in Oman by Commerzbank AG.