Muscat – Total net profits of companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) grew by 13% year-on-year, reaching $2.9bn for the first nine months of 2025, compared with $2.5bn reported in the same period of 2024.

The growth in total profits was mainly driven by the banking, utilities, and diversified financials sectors, as ten of the fourteen sectors on the MSX reported year-on-year profit growth in Q3 2025, according to a research report released by Kamco Investment Company.

For Q3 2025, total net profits of listed firms in Oman increased by 11.2% to $1bn, up from $900.2mn in Q3 2024, the report showed.

For the first nine months of 2025, total net profits of the banking sector, the largest on the MSX by market capitalisation, rose 7.8% to $1.1bn from $1bn in the same period last year. Total Q3 2025 earnings for the banking sector increased by 8.2% to $376.2mn, up from $347.6mn in Q3 2024.

Aggregate Q3 2025 net earnings for the utilities sector, the third-largest by total net profit, surged 78.6% to $115.9mn, from $64.9mn in Q3 2024. Growth in the sector’s earnings was supported by six of eight utility companies reporting year-on-year profit growth, led by Phoenix Power, which posted a 22.8% year-on-year net profit increase to $49.6mn from $40.4mn in Q3 2024.

The telecom sector’s total net profits rose 2.9% to $51.4mn in Q3 2025, compared with $49.9mn in Q3 2024. Both companies in the sector reported year-on-year earnings growth for the quarter. Omantel recorded net profits of $44.2mn in Q3 2025, up from $43.9mn in Q3 2024, while its net profits for the first nine months of 2025 improved by 16.3% to $135mn. Ooredoo Oman reported a 16.5% year-on-year net profit increase to $7.2mn in Q3 2025, up from $6.1mn in Q3 2024.

GCC net profits reach 12-quarter high

Aggregate net profits of companies listed on GCC exchanges witnessed healthy year-on-year growth of 7.9% in Q3 2025, reaching $65.6bn, one of the highest levels in last 12 quarters, compared with $60.7bn in Q3 2024, according to Kamco Investment’s report.

The year-on-year increase during the quarter was mainly led by higher profits in the banking and real estate sectors, partially offset by declines in the telecom and utilities sectors. Moreover, a marginal rise in energy sector profits, compared with a decline in the previous quarter, also supported overall growth, the report added.

At the country level, profitability improved across the board. Companies listed on UAE exchanges reported the largest absolute growth in profits, followed by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Profits for Saudi-listed companies were the highest in five quarters at $38.2bn, while net profits for Dubai-listed companies reached one of the highest quarterly levels on record at $8.1bn.

Net profits for the first nine months of 2025 showed mixed trends at the country level, with higher profits in most GCC markets offset by declines for Saudi and Kuwait-listed companies.

Abu Dhabi- and Dubai-listed companies posted the largest profit growth over nine months, rising 5.6% and 2.7% to reach $57.7bn and $50.9bn, respectively. Companies in Qatar and Bahrain also recorded marginal net profit growth during the first nine months of 2025.

Conversely, net profits for Saudi-listed companies fell 5.3% to $107.5bn in the first nine months of 2025, down from $113.5bn in the same period of 2024. The decline was mainly due to lower profits in the energy, materials, and insurance sectors, partially offset by higher earnings in banking and real estate.

Net profits for Kuwait-listed companies declined slightly by 1.6% in the first nine months of 2025, mainly due to lower earnings in the transportation sector.

Profits reported by listed banks in the GCC reached a record high in Q3 2025 at $17.4bn, supported by higher profits in six of the seven country aggregates in the region.