* Profit up 24 pct to T$4.29 bln, in line with expectations
* Q3 sales at lower end of company forecast
* Q4 momentum seen soft - analyst
By Argin Chang
TAIPEI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Acer Inc, the world's No. 3 personal computer vendor, posted a 24 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, in line with market expectations.
Profit of T$4.29 billion ($138 million) in the September quarter met a consensus forecast of T$4.26 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Acer had previously said its third-quarter consolidated sales rose 11.3 percent from the previous three months, at the lower end of its target of a 10-15 percent growth.
"Even though Acer's Q4 sales volume growth will be in line with the PC market, the increase will only be slightly higher the previous quarter," said analyst Stephen Tseng of RBS.
Rival Lenovo said this week that demand for personal computers slowed slightly at the end of third quarter, with a clear slowdown seen in western Europe.
Acer's nine-month net profit was T$11.21 billion, according to a statement it filed to the Taiwan stock exchange. It did not elaborate.
Acer stock ended up 2.7 percent before the announcement, while the broader market rose nearly 1 percent.