RPT-UPDATE 1-Turkish Airlines Q3 profit falls less than expected

* Third-quarter net pft down 7 pct to 374 mln lira

* Sales rise 17 pct to 2.09 lira

* Nine-month EBITAR rises 51 percent

By Ayla Jean Yackley

ISTANBUL, Nov 12 - Flag carrier Turkish Airlines <THYAO.IS> on Thursday said its consolidated net profit fell 7 percent in the third quarter, less than forecast, as sales jumped and the value of its fleet fell less than expected.

Net income was 374 million lira in the July-September period, exceeding a forecast of 274 million lira in a Reuters poll. Sales jumped 17 percent to 2.09 billion lira, according to a filing with the stock exchange.

"In parallel to sales revenue, the upward growth trend in traffic results continued in the first nine months ... The number of passengers increased by 10 percent," the state-run airline said in an e-mailed statement.

Europe's fourth-largest airline had EBITDAR, or earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortization and aircraft rentals, of 1.25 billion lira in the first nine months of 2009, up 41 percent from the same period of 2008, it said.

"The better-than-expected operating profit is partly due to the fleet valuation," said Cemal Demirtas, an analyst at Oyak Securities in Istanbul.

The state-run carrier's aircraft are valued in dollars, and the U.S. currency's 4.3 percent drop against the euro in the third quarter was expected to hit that valuation.

"It's a company that remains profitable while growing rapidly," said Alper Paksoy, an analyst at EFG Istanbul Securities, before the results were announced.

Turkish Airlines was the most actively traded stock on the exchange after releasing its financial results. It rose 2.18 percent to 4.68 lira, while the benchmark index declined.

The stock has more than quadrupled this year, compared to the index's 80 percent rise.

Of the 14 analysts covering Turkish Airlines, seven rate it "buy", one "outperform", four "hold" and two "underperform".