National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the largest lender by market value in the UAE, has reported a net profit of Dh4.2 billion ($1.14 billion) for the first nine months, up 14 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Announcing the results, the Abu Dhabi lender said the net profit for the third quarter surged 32 per cent year-on-year to hit Dh1.37 billion ($372 million).

NBAD pointed out that the results for both periods reflected underlying business improvement.

The revenues for the nine-month period rose 8.4 per cent year-on-year to Dh7.7 billion ($2.09 billion), while the bank's total assets surged 15.3 per cent to Dh398.1 billion ($108.3 billion), the bank said in its statement.

The annualised return on average equity for the nine-month period rose to 15.6 per cent, up 42bps from 15.1 per cent last year, it added.

Commenting on the performance, chairman Nasser Alsowaidi said, "In the third quarter, NBAD continued to generate solid momentum across its multiple lines of business. Our year-to-date results reflect continued strength in underlying revenue and earnings growth, and we have continued to maintain a strong balance sheet and solid capital position whilst achieving these results."

Group chief executive Alex Thursby said: "Our performance in the first three quarters of 2014 reflects the successful execution of our long-term strategy, and we continue to see positive underlying trends in our global wholesale, global retail & commercial and global wealth businesses."

"We are achieving these strong results whilst also maintaining a conservative approach to risk management," noted Thursby.

"During the third quarter, we were ranked 25th – up from 35th - amongst the World’s 50 safest banks by Global Finance magazine, marking the sixth consecutive year we have been on this prestigious list. During the period, we continued the process of exiting certain businesses which are not aligned with our long-term strategy from either a customer product or risk perspective," he stated.

"In addition to our solid performance in the first three quarters, we are also beginning to raise our profile – in the UAE and around the world – and we are playing an increasingly more prominent role in connecting global investors in the UAE and across the West-East corridor in 2014," he added.-TradeArabia News Service