Bank Muscat, the largest lender in Oman, has reported net profits of RO86.3m ($224.1m) for the first half of 2013, marking a 36.8 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

The bank’s results were bolstered by an investment gain of RO9.5m, recorded due to the merger of Bahraini lenders Al-Salam and BMI Bank in which Bank Muscat has a 49 per cent stake. The merger was completed at the beginning of this year.

The bank recorded an increase of 5.6 per cent in net interest income from conventional banking and income from Islamic financing during the first six months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

Net loans and advances rose by 9.8 per cent to reach RO6.1bn in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

Customer deposits grew at a similar rate of 10.6 per cent to reach RO6.3bn in the first half of the year.