MSM-listed firms report OMR320mn profit

Muscat: Oman’s economy is very much on the road to a quick recovery, as demonstrated by a disclosure made by the 110 companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) that they made OMR320 million in combined net profits for the first half of the year.
The amount is 8 per cent higher than the combined net profit of OMR296 million disclosed for the six-month period ending on June 30, 2017, by the companies that have so far disclosed their initial results.
“The performance of listed companies is the economic barometer of any country and this 8 per cent jump in the combined net profit shows that the Omani economy is bouncing back and business sentiments are upbeat,” said market researcher Mohamed Issa Al Balushi.
The Omani economy had been reeling under the pressure of declining oil prices since 2014, which at one point touched US$24 per barrel, causing a share market rout, a budget deficit, and government borrowing.
“The scenario has completely changed, with Brent crossing the $70 per barrel level in 2018, even almost touching the $80 per barrel level at one point,” said Mubeen Khan, a chartered accountant and researcher. “The prices now seem to be stabilising between the $70 and $75 range. It is at this price that Oman’s budget balances, and if the current government expense optimisation continues, this can also deliver a modest budget surplus.”
“The current geopolitical tensions, the global lack of investments in the oil and gas sector in the last four years, and the ever-increasing crude demand have the potential to jack up crude prices further, which means that talking about the $90 per barrel level by the end of the year won’t be unreasonable,” added Khan.