Qatar's Masraf Al Rayan, the sixth largest Gulf Arab Islamic lender by market value, said second-quarter net profit soared 1,400 percent to a record as customer deposits surged.

Profit after depositors' share was 623.5 million riyals ($171.3 million) in the three months to June 30, Reuters calculated from half-year data the bank released on Sunday.

Dlala Brokerage & Investment Holding forecast in a Reuters survey last month that the bank's second-quarter profit would rise 61.6 percent to 66.76 million riyals.

First-half net profit after depositors' share was 667 million riyals, Masraf Al Rayan said in a statement.

Deposits jumped to 2.99 billion riyals on June 30 from 223 million riyals at the end of 2006, while assets almost doubled to 8.26 billion riyals in the six months to end June.

Masraf made 41.32 million riyals in the second quarter of last year and 43.50 million riyals in the first quarter of this year, according to financial statements posted on the Doha bourse website. In March, the bank said it planned to expand throughout the Middle East in the next three years, and was eyeing Asia for international expansion. - Reuters