DUBAI - Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad Airways reported a 66% increase in net profit in the first nine months of the year, helped by a double-digit increase in passenger traffic.

The state-owned airline made 1.4 billion dirhams ($381 million) as of Sept. 30, it said in a statement on Thursday, compared to 814 million dirhams in the same period a year earlier.

Total revenue increased 21% to 18.4 billion dirhams with the airline carrying 13.6 million passengers over the year, which Etihad said marked a 35% increase compared to the previous year.

The airline has added flights and new routes.

"This impressive growth is driven by strong results in both passenger and cargo revenues, underscoring the effectiveness of our strategy and the strength of our growth trajectory," Chief Executive Antonoaldo Neves said in the statement.

According to Reuters calculations, Etihad made a profit of 549 milliion dirhams for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 and revenue of 6.7 billion dirhams.

Etihad's owner the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ is considering an initial public offering of the airline next year, sources previously told Reuters.

($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)

(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Susan Fenton)