Muscat: Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate, has proposed a 35 per cent dividend for the year 2020.

Continuing the bank’s dividend payment track record and considering the current economic situation, the Board of Directors has proposed a 25 per cent cash dividend and a 10 per cent dividend in the form of bonus shares for the year 2020. The bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) after the cash dividend payout will be 20.77 per cent, which is well above the regulatory minimum.

The meeting of the Board of Directors chaired by Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani, Chairman, on Tuesday, 26 January 2021, approved the 2020 financial results and dividend payout, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and shareholders of the bank.

Shareholders would receive a cash dividend of OMR0.025 per ordinary share aggregating to OMR81.238 million on the Bank’s existing share capital. In addition, they would receive bonus shares in the proportion of 1 share for every 10 ordinary shares aggregating to 324,952,253 shares amounting to OMR32.495 million. The proposed cash dividend and issuance of bonus shares are subject to the formal approval of the Annual General Meeting of the shareholders and regulatory authorities.

The bank posted a net profit of OMR163.36 million for the year 2020 compared to OMR185.55 million reported in 2019, a decrease of 12.0 per cent. The complete set of financial statements, which are subject to Central Bank of Oman approval, are available at the Muscat Securities Market website