Constraints first:
Since the tens and unit digits of the sum are the same, there can't be any carry over in the sum, meaning that B+C=C+B must be less than or equal to 9.
C=A+B, therefore A+B<=9
The problem stem specifies that the digits are non-zero, so B and C must both be less than 9. If one of them were 9, then we would have to have the other one be 0 to respect B+C=C+B<=9.
Let's write everything out:
B<9; C<9; A+B<9; D<=9; D=B+C; B+C<=9
Lets trial and error.
We should maximise C, in order to maximise A*B.
The first highest possible value of C is 8.
8 may be the result of the following sums:
8+0; 7+1; 6+2; 5+3; 4+4.
We exclude 4+4, as A and B must be distinct from each other.
The products of these factors are respectively:
0, 7, 12, 15.
We'll try only 6 and 2, corresponding to a product of 12, since it's the only one of those that could be the answer.
A=6; B=2; C=8; D=10
This is not acceptable because D must be less than or equal to 9.
Let's try the next highest C, C=7
The sums that give 7 are:
7+0; 6+1; 5+2; 4+3
The products of those factors are, respectively:
0; 6; 10; 12
12 is a possible solution, so lets try it:
A=4; B=3; C=7; D=10
Not acceptable
A=3; B=4; C=7; D=11
Not acceptable
Next highest is 10:
A=5; B=2; C=7; D=9
This is acceptable.
10 is the highest possible product of A and B, because if I kept trying with lower and lower Cs, A and B would also become lower, as well as their product.
For reference, the highest A*B, given C=6, without checking against the constraints is 8.
Sorry for the lack of math formatting. Is my solution correct and efficient enough?