UPDATE 1-National Bank of Oman Q3 profit climbs 16 pct

* Analysts polled forecast 7.45 mln rials on average

* NBO reports nine-month earnings of 21.7 mln rials (Adds details, background)

DUBAI Oct 17 (Reuters) - National Bank of Oman NBO.OM (NBO), the third-largest lender in the sultanate, saw its third-quarter net profit rise 16 percent but the results fell short of analyst expectations.

The bank's net profit climbed to 7.1 million rials ($18.44 million) based on Reuters calculations, from 6.12 million a year ago, missing analysts average expectations.

An estimate of analysts polled by Reuters expected a profit of 7.45 million rials for the quarter. [ID:nLDE69907R]

For the nine-month period ending September 30, National Bank of Oman reported earnings of 21.7 million rials. The company did not provide any reason for the results in its statement.

NBO had reported second-quarter earnings of 8.02 million rials, beating forecasts, in a recovery that analysts said showed that the sector was moving beyond its previous high provisions and asset quality issues. [ID:nLDE66305D] (Reporting by Shaheen Pasha; Editing by Dinesh Nair)