DUBAI- Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU (DIB), the United Arab Emirates' largest sharia-compliant lender, posted a 26 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, in line with analysts' forecasts, according to Reuters calculations.

DIB made 1.15 billion dirhams ($313.1 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, Reuters calculated from annual statements in the absence of a quarterly breakdown. This compares with a profit of 916.1 million dirhams in the corresponding period of 2016.

The average forecast of three analysts polled by Reuters was for DIB to make a quarterly profit of 1.06 billion dirhams.

In an investor presentation, the bank said it was targeting loan growth of between 10 and 15 percent in 2018, the same target it set for 2017. The bank's loan growth reached 16 percent in 2017, a level ahead of many of its competitors.

($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)

(Reporting By Tom Arnold; Editing by Gareth Jones) ((Tom.Arnold@thomsonreuters.com; +97144536265; Reuters Messaging: tom.arnold.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))