ABU DHABI- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank on Thursday posted a 9 percent rise in first quarter profit as net interest and Islamic financing income rose.

The emirate's second-largest bank by assets made a net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.21 billion dirhams ($330 million) in the three months to Mar.31, compared to 1.11 billion dirhams in the first quarter of 2017, ADCB said in a statement.

SICO Bahrain forecast a fourth-quarter profit of 1.09 billion dirhams, while EFG Hermes expected a profit of 1.14 billion dirhams. Total net interest and Islamic financing income reached 1.83 billion dirhams, 12 percent up from the same period of last year.

ADCB's impairment allowances reached 380 million dirhams during the quarter, down 2 percent from the same period of last year. Loans and advances growth was flat at 162.82 billion dirhams in the quarter compared to the end of December 2017, due to significant repayments, the statement said. Customer deposits totalled 166.88 billion dirhams, up 2 percent from the previous quarter. The bank launched and priced a $750 million bond in March, its first dollar debt issuance since 2015, the statement said.

(Reporting By Stanley Carvalho, editing by Tom Arnold) ((stanley.carvalho@thomsonreuters.com; + 9712 6444431; Reuters Messaging: stanley.carvalho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))