Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) surpassed analysts' expectations for the third-quarter despite reporting a slight dip in net profit as gains from financial investments offset a drop in fee and commission income.

The state's third-largest lender by market value earned QR548 million ($150.5 million) for the third-quarter, compared with QR552 million a year earlier, a company statement said yesterday.

Analysts had forecast average quarterly profit of QR503.2 million. The lender's nine-month net profit rose four per cent to QR1.57 billion, the statement said.

Profit from financial investments for the quarter was QR120.4 million compared with QR19.5 million for the year-ago period. On the other hand, fee and commission income dropped to QR172.2 million from QR201.4 million from the year earlier.

"For the remainder of 2012, we will continue to focus on growing our domestic corporate and retail businesses, developing the strength of our regional alliance and delivering solid returns to our shareholders," Group chief executive Andrew Stevens said.

Banks in Qatar are expected to benefit from heavy state spending on infrastructure as the world's fastest growing economy prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.

A senior Standard & Poor's executive said in July that Qatari lenders should rely less on deposits and issue more debt and Islamic bonds to raise capital to fuel the country's growth.-Reuters