National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the United Arab Emirates' largest lender by market value, posted net profit of Dh1.41 billion ($383.9 million) in the first three months of 2014, the same figure as the corresponding quarter last year.

That topped an average of 1.20 billion dirhams forecast by analysts polled by Reuters.

"Overall, we produced very good 'business as usual' results in a marketplace in which we continue to see margin compression," CEO Alex Thursby said in the earnings statement.

"Our strategy enables us to generate growth at acceptable returns for our shareholders in this competitive environment."

UAE banks in general have recorded impressive growth in the first quarter, continuing the trend from 2013, as the economy rebounds from a real estate crash and debt problems at Dubai government-linked entities.

For NBAD, a 2.7 percent gain in first-quarter net interest income was offset by a 4.4 percent year-on-year drop in non-interest income.

Impairment charges were 251 million dirhams, down 22 percent year on year.

Customer deposits rose 11.3 percent from the end of 2013 to 235 billion dirhams helped by inflows from government-related entities.

However, NBAD's loans and advances fell 2.9 percent during the first quarter to 178.5 billion dirhams at the end of March. - Reuters