Shareholders approve Omani financier payout

Khalid Said Al Wahaibi, chairman of the Al Omaniya Financial Services, at its recent annual general meeting said that the shareholders have approved a dividend of 25 per cent for the financial year 2012 comprising 15 per cent cash, 5 per cent stock dividend and 5 per cent compulsorily convertible unsecured bonus stock bonds.   Presiding over the meeting, he stated that the shareholders have also approved the audited financial statements of the company for the year 2012. The company's loan book stands at OMR205 million at the end of 2012, a record for the non-banking financial services companies (NBFC). The loan book grew by 32 per cent, which is another record in the industry, said Aftab Patel, chief executive of Al Omaniya. The total revenue of the company stood at OMR17.05 million. The pre-tax profit stands at OMR6.4 million and the net profit is OMR5.66 million.   The company has provided OMR2.13 million as provision for doubtful debts. The earnings per share is 32 baisas, the highest in the industry.  For regulatory limits, the net worth of the company stands at OMR58.01 million. The book value of the share is 232 baisas, the highest in the industry. The company has a well diversified portfolio of assets with the lowest non-performing assets ratio of 0.8 per cent in the industry.  The cumulative provisions stand at OMR6.75 million, which covers 395 per cent of the non-performing assets. The company focuses to strengthen its position as a specialised financial institution to meet the corporate needs besides continuing the retail and micro finance business. The company has been posting higher earnings and profitability over the years and has been a consistent dividend payer since inception. On most of the parameters, the company stands at pole position — number one in asset size, highest net worth, highest market capitalisation, highest profit, highest earnings per share, highest profit per employee and lowest non-performing loans and largest market capitalisation on the MSM in the sector. The company's unique distinction being that not only it is the largest NBFC in Oman with asset size in excess of OMR205 million and leads in all parameters, but it has the lowest non-performing loans among the banking and non-banking sectors, reflecting the highest quality of its portfolio of assets.   Patel further added that the company's performance for the year 2013 till date has been in line with the projections and barring unforeseen circumstances, the company is not only expected to retain its number one position in all parameters but also maintains its track record on profitability and dividend payments. Moody's Investors Service has reaffirmed the global scale Ba3 local and foreign currency corporate family rating (CFR) with stable outlook.