Muscat Stock Exchange Profits Jump 12% in Q2 as Industrial Sector Leads Surge

Muscat-Listed Profits Up 12% in Q2 as Industrial Sector Drives Growth

Publicly traded companies on the Muscat Stock Exchange delivered combined net profits of 866.98 million Omani rials in the second quarter of 2026, a 12% rise from 773.9 million rials in the same period last year. According to data from the Oman News Agency, 87% of the firms that disclosed results were profitable, signaling a broad base of earnings.

The strongest growth came from the industrial sector, where profits surged 51% to 172 million rials. The financial sector—the market’s largest profit contributor—grew 13% to 392 million rials, while investment and real estate funds increased 11% to roughly 6 million rials. In contrast, the services sector saw a 4% decline, with profits falling to 297 million rials from 309 million rials a year earlier.

At the company level, OQ Exploration and Production topped the list with a net profit of 196.87 million rials, followed by Bank Muscat (137.49 million rials), the Omani-Indian Fertiliser Company Omifco (80.22 million rials), Bank Sohar International (53 million rials), and OQ Basic Industries (43.3 million rials). Together, these five firms accounted for roughly 59% of the market’s total Q2 profit.

Deep Dive: Concentration Risk and Sector Rotation Behind the Q2 Surge

The OQ Factor and Market Concentration

The Q2 numbers underscore how heavily the Muscat bourse depends on a small group of names. OQ Exploration and Production alone contributed nearly 23% of all listed-company profits, and when combined with OQ Basic Industries, the two OQ entities delivered more than the entire industrial sector’s gain—though exact prior-year comparisons for these firms were not provided. The financial sector held a 45% profit share, with Bank Muscat and Bank Sohar International together representing about 22% of the total. This concentration means that index-level performance is highly sensitive to operational or macro shifts affecting just a few companies.

Services Sector Earnings Slide

While most sectors expanded, the services segment’s 4% profit contraction stands out. Without granular sub-sector data it’s unclear which firms dragged the figure down, but the decline amid broad market growth suggests that some service providers may be losing pricing power or facing rising costs. For a market where 87% of companies are profitable, this pocket of weakness warrants attention from investors and management alike.

What Q2 Results Signal for Muscat Bourse Investors

• OQ Exploration and Production’s 196.87 million rial profit makes it the single largest contributor. Any movement in oil output or prices will flow directly into this number—investors holding OQ-linked securities should factor commodity price forecasts into their valuation assumptions.
• The top five companies (OQ Exploration, Bank Muscat, Omifco, Bank Sohar International, OQ Basic Industries) generated about 60% of total market profits. News from these firms—earnings guidance, contract awards, or cost pressures—will disproportionately influence the bourse’s direction, so portfolio-level risk assessments should account for this clustering.
• Services-sector shareholders should examine the full list of Q2 filers to identify which companies drove the 4% profit drop. A prolonged slide in that segment, even as the broader market grows, could signal structural challenges worth closer scrutiny before adding exposure.