Oman International Bank, the sultanate's fourth-largest bank by market capitalisation, posted fourth quarter net profit of 5.95 million Omani rials ($15.5 million) on Thursday, down 28 percent from the year-ago period.

Three analysts had forecast fourth-quarter earnings at an average of 11.87 million rials, according to a Reuters survey.

Net profit for the full-year stood at 21.5 million rials compared with 29.4 million rials a year earlier, the lender said.

Interest income for the year was 40.2 million rials versus 44.1 million for the last year, the bank said, without offering a further breakdown of the results.

In October, the bank had reported nine-month net profit of 15.55 million rials, down 27 percent from the same period last year. - Reuters