Abu Dhabi's state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) said its 2012 net profit surged on the back of better operating performance at its key units and a recovery in the market value of listed equities.

IPIC, which has interests in companies including Spain's Cepsa and Austrian oil group OMV, said net profit for 2012 rose to Dh6.4 billion ($1.74 billion) from Dh164.1 million in 2011.

"The profit increase...was attributable to the robust operational performance of Cepsa, Nova Chemicals, and Borealis along with the recovery of certain listed equities held by Aabar," IPIC said in a statement on Tuesday.

Through its Aabar Investments unit, it also owns a stake in Italian lender Unicredit.-Reuters