"Tthe company's profit before tax was in line with the forecast and that the profit after tax has significantly increased following a tax provision writeback," said David Douglas, chairman of OOMCO. "Even more pleasing is that this performance has been achieved in an increasingly competitive market and while we were going through the process of separating our operations from BP," said Douglas. Year 2003 was an active period for OOMCO with the opening of the first Omanoil service station, swiftly followed by the conversion of the majority of service stations in the capital region and four new builds by year-end. The new logo and design has been received well by the motoring public and has provided the company with a fresh look. The turnover of the company has declined by around RO7 million, but gross profit percentage to sales is up 0.5 per cent, giving a positive pre tax profit at RO2.2 million with an after-tax profit of RO2.6 million. The balance sheet remains strong with debt and cash management receiving added attention as the company reduced the debt by close to RO1 million. The continuing focus on business improvements and new opportunities has led to an aggressive capital expenditure of RO1.7 million, thereby increasing the asset base and giving a net asset value per share which increased to RO1.892 from RO1.737 in 2002. Earnings per share has risen from RO0.338 in 2002 to RO0.405 in 2003, with dividend yields (at offer price) up by 0.5 per cent to 13 per cent from 2002. PIN//The Oman Times