Ahli United Bank (AUB), Bahrain's largest bank, posted on Sunday a 17.7 percent rise in first-quarter net profit amid an increase in net interest income and gains in associate banks in Qatar and Oman.

The bank said in a statement net profit attributable to shareholders in the quarter was $77.3 million, compared with $65.7 million in the year-earlier quarter. Overall net profit was $81.6 million in the quarter.

Net interest income climbed to $136.7 million, up 16.3 percent from a year ago. Associate banks contributed $15.9 million to profits in the first quarter, the bank said in a bourse statement.

Bahrain's economy was hit during the first-quarter with the anti-government unrest during which its economy ground to a halt for several days and investor sentiment collapsed.

'We remain cautious amidst the current regional developments and are confident that the bank is well positioned to meet any emerging challenges,' said chairman Fahad Al-Rajaan in the statement.   

AUB was the first major bank to report earnings since the unrest, but made no reference to how it was impacted. The bank said it has adopted a cautious lending stance in a challenging regional business environment. - Reuters