IHC, Abu Dhabi's largest listed company, said on Monday it would buy back up to 5 billion dirhams ($1.36 billion) of its shares as it reported that first-quarter profit almost doubled.

The conglomerate said its profit for the first three months of the year rose to 8.02 billion dirhams from 4.27 billion a year earlier, while revenue grew to 19.29 billion from 15.74 billion in the first quarter of 2023, driven by strong performances in core divisions including real estate and construction, and technology.

IHC is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates' national security adviser and a brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

($1 = 3.6725 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni, editing by Susan Fenton)