National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) posted its second-biggest profit ever in the fourth-quarter, surging 59 per cent to Dh744 million ($202.6 million) beating analysts' forecasts.

Full-year profit at the second-largest lender in the UAE rose 19 per cent to Dh2.5 billion, the bank said in a statement.

'Recovering local equity markets helped our results this year, and our brokerage and asset management businesses remain well-positioned to take advantage of the improving regional equity market,' chief executive officer Michael Tomalin said in the statement.

Analysts' forecasts for NBAD's fourth-quarter profit ranged from Dh522 million to Dh701 million, in a Reuters survey last month, with the average of seven analysts at Dh600.96 million.-Reuters