Bank Muscat, the main victim of a $45mn global cyber heist, made a second-quarter net profit of 38.1mn Omani rials ($98.95mn), Reuters calculated, slightly higher than estimated.

Oman’s biggest lender by market value reported a net profit of 63.1mn rials in the first half of 2013 yesterday, down from 68.4mn rials in the prior-year period. The decline in profit was attributed to a first-quarter operating loss related to extra provisioning for fraud.

“The Bank is working on various channels to recover the loss arising from this exposure and will update the market on any material developments in this regard,” a company statement to the Muscat bourse said.

The bank, one of the victims of a $45mn global cyber heist, took an impairment charge of up to 15mn rials in the first quarter after a small number of its travel cards were hit by fraud - an amount United Securities calculated was around 10.5% of the bank’s estimated 2013 earnings.

Reuters calculated second-quarter profit from previous financial statements. First-quarter net profit was 25mn rials.

 

Yansab

Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) has said its second-quarter net profit grew 3.2% on an annual basis to 671mn riyals ($179mn) due to lower financial charges, despite a fall in its sales.

The company, a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp, one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, said gross profit had fallen by 2.1% in the same period.

However, while sales were lower than a year ago, they were higher than in the first quarter of this year, Yansab said in a bourse statement.

 

Saudi Cement

Saudi Cement Co reported a 5.9% increase in second-quarter net profit yesterday, due to a rise in local demand for cement. The company posted a second-quarter net profit of 307mn riyals ($81.7mn) compared to 290mn riyals in the same period in 2012, but missed analyst expectations.

A Reuters poll of eight analysts had estimated an average second-quarter profit of 333.4mn riyals.

Net profit for the first six months of 2013 was 647mn riyals, up 5% from the previous year.

 

Safco

Saudi Arabia Fertiliser Co (Safco) said second-quarter net profit fell 12% to 693mn Saudi riyals ($184.8mn) as lower prices dragged on revenues.

The result was well short of the 801mn riyals effort that analysts at NCB Capital had pencilled in, but was inline with Sico’s estimate of 691mn riyals.

Lower prices for urea, a main ingredient in fertiliser, accounted for the drop in quarterly profit, Safco said in a statement on the website of the Saudi stock exchange.

 

Alafco

Kuwait’s Alafco Aviation Lease and Finance Co said third-quarter net profit for its 2012-13 fiscal year inched down 1.3% to 3.93mn Kuwaiti dinars ($13.78mn), from 3.98mn dinars in the same period a year earlier.

Alafco, whose fiscal year ends on September 30, didn’t give a reason for the profit decline in a statement posted on the Kuwait bourse website on Sunday. The Shariah-compliant aircraft lessor said its net profit for the nine-month period ending June 30 plunged 23% to 17.12mn dinars from 22.25mn dinars a year earlier.

Alafco, which leases its fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft to airlines worldwide, is 53.7%-owned by Kuwait Finance House -the Gulf state’s largest Islamic bank.

 

Saudi Kayan

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co posted a second-quarter net loss of 238mn riyals ($63.5mn) yesterday, 27% narrower than its loss a year ago but still missing analyst forecasts. The company, a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), made a loss of 328mn riyals in the second quarter of 2012 and a loss of 155mn riyals in the first quarter of this year.

Saudi Kayan has not yet fully started up its main production units. Three analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast results ranging from a loss of 104mn riyals to a profit of 137mn riyals.