Bank Sohar's shareholders approved the proposal to distribute cash dividends at the rate of 8bz per share, and the related party transactions during the annual general meeting held at the Learning Centre, Qurm branch, on March 22.
The shareholders reviewed and approved the board of directors' report for the year ended December 31, 2011 along with financial statements, auditor's report and corporate governance report for the same period.
The shareholders also approved the sitting fees and the remuneration to directors for the board and committee meetings for the last year and determined the sitting fees of the board of directors and for members of committees for the current financial year.
The board's proposal to allocate RO100,000 for charitable contributions during the year 2012 was approved at the AGM.
Bank Sohar, which commenced operations in 2007, is one of the youngest banks in the sultanate and this was the bank's fifth annual general meeting.
The bank achieved a net profit of RO14.5mn for 2011 compared to RO10.22mn in 2010, marking a year-on-year increase of 41.8 per cent. Operating profit for 2011 was RO20mn compared to RO15.64mn in 2010, an increase of 27.9 per cent.
Net interest income during the year rose to RO34.76mn, compared to RO30.6mn in 2010, registering an increase of 13.6 per cent. Operating income rose 22.6 per cent to RO43.19mn from RO35.23mn in 2010. The bank's cost-to-income ratio improved to 53.67 per cent in 2011 from 55.6 per cent in 2010.
The bank's net loans and advances grew by 12.9 per cent during the year to touch RO1,020mn, compared to RO903mn in the previous year. Customer deposits grew by 17.2 per cent to RO1,171mn during the year, as compared to RO999mn in 2010.
Muscat Daily 2012
