National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf Arab state's largest commercial lender, reported a 15.6 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday, missing analysts' expectations despite an increase in revenue.

It gave no reason for the profit fall.

The bank made a net profit of KD59.1 million ($204.7 million) in the three months to the end of September, down from KD70.1 million ($242.3 million) a year ago, a bourse filing said.

Five analysts polled by Reuters, on average, forecast NBK to post a net profit of KD78.95 million ($273 million) in the third quarter.

An 8.3 per cent rise in third-quarter operating profit suggests provisions -- or money set aside to cover potential bad loans -- may have hit earnings.

"NBK's conservative management practices and its strong financial position helped the bank sustain its profitability and resilient market position," Nasser al-Sayer, chairman of NBK, said in the statement.

The decline in third-quarter net profit came despite the bank posting a 7.8 per cent increase in its operating revenue versus the same quarter of 2013.

Aiding this increase was a 10.2 per cent year-on-year gain in total loans and advances, which stood at KD11.6 billion ($40.1 billion) on September 30.

Deposits rose 7.5 per cent to KD10.8 billion ($37.3 billion) over the same time period.

NBK's fourth-quarter net profit is expected to be boosted significantly after it sold a 30 per cent stake in International Bank of Qatar at the beginning of October. It said it would book a gain of KD25 million n the transaction. – Reuters