Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank on Thursday posted a 6.9 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit, aided by higher revenues and a growth in customers.

The emirate's largest sharia-compliant bank made a net profit of Dh482 million ($131.2 million) in the three months ending March 31, compared to Dh450.8 million in the same period a year ago, it said in a bourse statement.

EFG Hermes forecast the bank would make a profit of Dh446 million in the quarter.

ADIB's revenues increased 7.6 per cent in the first quarter, reaching Dh1.32 billion versus Dh1.22 billion in the same quarter of 2015.

ADIB added 95,000 new customers year on year, reaching 892,728 customers, and recorded growth across all banking lines and segments, the statement said.

Net customer financing at the end of March totalled Dh78.3 billion, up 8.3 per cent on a year ago, while deposits gained 9.6 per cent over the same timeframe to stand at Dh96 billion.

Impairments in the first quarter this year rose 6.7 per cent year on year to Dh216.2 million.

In February the bank's chief executive said ADIB remains cautious about growth in 2016 because of competitive pressures on credit spreads and continue to forecast modest new customer financing growth. – Reuters