Swiss bank UBS reported an increase in net profits for its second quarter, up 53% on the previous year.

The second quarter adjusted profit before tax was 1.6bn Swiss francs (£1.1bn, $1.7bn), far higher than the forecast by analysts who predicted a rise in profits of just 3.2 percent.

UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said to financial broadcaster CNBC that the bank had “maintained its momentum despite ongoing market challenges”.

The bank published their earnings a day earlier than planned, to counter “incorrect and misleading information” in a report about the results in Swiss weekly Sonntagszeitung on Sunday.

“These results show a company delivering on its strategy,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Andrew Stimpson, who has a ‘buy’ rating on the stock, wrote in a note.