Doha Bank, Qatar's third-largest conventional lender by market value, said on Thursday first-quarter profit rose almost 23 percent. Net income in the three months to March 31 was 274 million riyals ($75.31 million), or 1.83 riyals per share, compared with 223.4 million riyals, or 1.49 riyals per share, in the year-earlier period, the bank said in a statement on the Qatar bourse website. Shares of Doha Bank have underformed the Qatar bourse banking index, rising 14 percent compared with 20.4 percent to Tuesday's close. The stock was up 0.49 percent at 0747 GMT. In contrast, shares of rivals such as Qatar National Bank and Commercial Bank of Qatar have climbed more. __
