* ADCB Q2 profit 733 mln dirhams vs 1.3 bln dirhams yr-ago -
* Q2/11 included one-off gain from sale of RHB Capital stake
* H1 profit 1.54 bln dhs vs 1.92 bln dhs last year
(Adds detail, background)
DUBAI, July 24 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's
(ADCB) second quarter profit topped forecasts on
Tuesday thanks partly to steeply lower provisions.
The United Arab Emirates' third biggest lender by market
value posted net profit of 733 million dirhams ($199.6 million)
for the three months ended June 30, down from 1.3 billion
dirhams in the prior-year period.
In the second quarter last year, ADCB booked a $357-million
one-time gain on the sale of its 25-percent stake in Malaysia's
RHB Capital to Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments.
Analysts had forecast average profit of 679.5 million
dirhams, according to a Reuters poll.
ADCB, nearly 60 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government,
saw a 34 percent year-on-year growth in net income and Islamic
financing income in the second quarter, with the 1.38 billion
dirhams outstripping the 1.04 billion dirhams made in 2011.
The bank also posted strong second-quarter operating income
growth, up 24 percent over the prior-year period.
Impairment allowances for the second quarter totalled 492
million dirhams, ADCB said in a statement, down 47 percent from
the corresponding period in 2011.
Compared to the end of 2011, deposits were up 2 percent at
111.2 billion dirhams but loans and advances were down 1 percent
at 123.5 billion dirhams.
ADCB's lending growth will remain muted at 2-3 percent in
2012 as the bank looks at deleveraging its balance sheet owing
to the lack of lending opportunities and a focus on better
quality loans, Bahraini investment bank SICO said in a research
note published June 21.
In a recent note affirming ADCB's rating at A+, Fitch noted
the high probability of support for the lender from UAE
authorities if needed.
Half-year profits stood at 1.54 billion dirhams compared to
1.92 billion in the first half of 2011, skewed by the RHB sale.
Shares in ADCB, which were halted pending the results on
Tuesday, have risen 21.6 percent year-to-date outperforming the
main Abu Dhabi index which is up 2.8 percent.
($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams)
(Editing by Amran Abocar)