(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- United Finance Company reported a 34 per cent decline in net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017. The company's net profit fell to RO757,000 for the first quarter this year from RO1.15mn in the corresponding period of 2016.
United Finance's loan portfolio decreased by six per cent to RO112.85mn as of March 31, 2017 from RO120.17mn a year ago. 'The decrease in loan portfolio was due to the subdued market conditions and the cautious approach pursued by the management while extending fresh loans to control delinquencies', the company said in its quarterly report submitted to the Muscat Securities Market (MSM).
Due to the restrained market conditions, it said the competition was intense, resulting in lending rates remaining highly competitive despite the increase in cost of borrowing. This resulted in a decline in net interest margin.
United Finance's total income dropped by 11 per cent to RO2.8mn in the first quarter of this year from RO3.16mn in the same period of last year. Total expenses increased two per cent to RO2.05mn.
United Finance said it maintained principal provisions of RO4.8mn in line with regulatory guidelines.
'The company is pursuing concerted efforts on the recovery front to restrain the level of impaired loans despite adverse market conditions positing a challenging task in the near term', it added.
MENAFN2304201701410000ID1095411667
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.