Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) swung to a second-quarter net profit as it booked a $357 million gain from the sale of its quarter-percent stake in Malaysia's RHB Capital.

The UAE's fourth largest lender by market capitalisation reported a net profit of 1.34 billion dirhams ($364.9 million) in the second quarter, compared with a loss of 531 million dirhams for the previous year, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated an average second quarter profit of 1.31 billion dirhams for the bank.      

ADCB, one of the region's most exposed banks to indebted conglomerate Dubai World, is one of two UAE banks on an informal seven-member coordinating committee negotiating Dubai World's restructuring plan.

In June, it sold its stake in Malaysian lender RHB to Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Aabar for 10.80 ringgit per share in a $1.91 billion deal.

The bank also said it would convene a shareholders meeting to buy back up to 10 percent of its capital. Net impairment allowances for the second-quarter stood at 935 million dirhams compared with 1.30 billion dirhams in the year earlier period. The bank took an additional impairment provision of 275 million dirhams for the first half, it said.  

ADCB said loans fell 5 percent to 123.0 billion dirhams in the second quarter of 2011 compared to a year ago, while deposits remained flat at 106.35 billion dirhams for the same period.

Operating income stood at 1.42 billion dirhams in the second quarter versus 1.12 billion dirhams a year ago, the statement said. ADCB shares have risen 50 percent year-to-date. They were halted pending the announcement of results on Tuesday. - Reuters