DUBAI, July 27 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi-listed Etisalat reported a 51 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Wednesday on the back of foreign exchange gains and lower finance costs and royalties.

Etisalat, which directly and indirectly operates in about 18 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit of 2.32 billion dirham ($631.7 million) in the three months to June 30, it said in a statement. This compares with a profit of 1.53 billion dirhams a year earlier.

SICO Bahrain forecast Etisalat would make a quarterly profit of 1.92 billion dirhams.

The company's board proposed an interim dividend of 40 fils per share for the first half, according to the statement.

Etisalat generated second-quarter revenue of 13.33 billion dirhams, up from 12.72 billion dirhams a year earlier.

Domestic revenue rose 3 percent to 7.7 billion dirhams due to increased customer base, while international revenue fell 1 percent year on year to 5.5 billion dirhams because of currency volatility in Egypt and Pakistan.

Etisalat had 163 million subscribers as of June 30, up 0.7 percent from the same point a year earlier.

The firm agreed in June to sell its 92.3 percent holding in Sudanese fixed line operator Canary for 349.6 million dirhams to Sudan's Bank of Khartoum, subject to conditions including the approval of Sudanese authorities.

($1 = 3.6726 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by David French) ((Hadeel.AlSayegh@thomsonreuters.com; +971566883310;))