National Bank of Oman, the sultanate's second-largest lender by assets, posted a 25 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit, beating analysts' expectations.

 

The lender made a net profit of RO12.7 million ($33 million) in the three months to June 30, according to Reuters calculations based on financial statements, up from RO10.2 million in the corresponding period of last year.

 

Five analysts polled by Reuters had estimated an average second-quarter profit of RO10.3 million.

 

NBO, which appointed Ahmed Al-Musalmi as chief executive officer in May, reported a net profit for the first six months of 2014 of RO23 million, up from RO18.8 million in the same period of last year, a bourse filing showed.

 

Loans and advances stood at RO2.22 billion at the end of June, seven per cent higher year-on-year, with customer deposits rising 34 per cent over the same timeframe to RO2.79 billion. - Reuters