Saturday 16 / May / 2026
Muscat: Public shareholding companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded net profits of OMR406.6 million in the first quarter of this year, compared to profits of OMR355.1 million in the same period last year, achieving a growth of 14.5 percent.
Preliminary financial results analysed by the Oman News Agency indicated that the first quarter of 2026 saw an increase in the number of companies that made profits, reaching 70 companies compared to 64 companies that recorded profits in the first quarter of last year.
These financial results reflected the improvement in the national economy, driven by increased government spending, accelerated implementation of numerous economic projects, and an improved investment environment.
OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP) topped the list of companies with the highest profits, recording net profits of OMR71.8 million. Bank Muscat came in second with net profits of OMR63.9 million and Omantel came in third after recording net profits of OMR30.4 million. Bank Sohar International came in fourth with net profits of OMR26.1 million, while the National Bank of Oman (NBO) came in fifth with net profits of OMR19.4 million.
The first quarter of this year witnessed a robust performance for banks listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, which achieved net profits of OMR144.3 million, accounting for 35.4 percent of total profits.
The first quarter of this year also witnessed strong performance in other sectors. OQ Group companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded net profits of OMR106.7 million, compared to OMR105.1 million in the same period last year. Oil marketing companies achieved growth in their net profits of 132 percent, rising from about OMR3.1 million to more than OMR7.2 million. The net profits of finance companies increased from OMR6.5 million to OMR6.7 million.
Preliminary financial results showed good performance for financial brokerage companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, with the Financial Centre and Financial Services companies moving from losses to profits, and International Financial Investments achieving net profits of OMR6.2 million compared to OMR2.5 million in the first quarter of last year.
Conversely, the financial data indicated that losses recorded in the first quarter of this year rose to OMR67.4 million, compared to OMR21.7 million in the same period last year, affected by losses recorded by energy companies, most notably Al-Suwadi Power and Al-Batinah Power, which recorded losses of OMR26.8 million and OMR26 million respectively.
The energy companies attributed the losses to a number of factors, including routine maintenance operations in preparation for the summer season, expecting to compensate for these losses during the coming months. Al Suwadi Power Company and Al Batinah Power Company said that the financial results were affected by an impairment assessment resulting from the signing of a new power purchase agreement in accordance with the agreed commercial terms.
This resulted in recording an impairment of assets of OMR29.7 million for Al Suwadi Company and OMR29.1 million for Al Batinah Company, which was partially offset by a deferred tax credit of OMR4.4 million based on adjusted cash flows that came in lower than the book value of the assets. The two companies said that, excluding the impact of the impairment, the financial results show an overall improvement in performance.
The first quarter of this year saw a decrease in the number of companies that recorded losses to 21 companies, compared to 25 companies that recorded losses in the first quarter of last year.
Preliminary financial results showed that 8 companies turned from losses to profits, most notably Galfar Engineering and Contracting, Raysut Cement, National Real Estate Development and Financial Services Company. In contrast, three companies turned from profits to losses: Salalah Port Services, Oman Chlorine and Arab Falcon Insurance Company.
