* Q3 net profit 149 million eur vs 75.3 million forecast
* Margins expected to remain under pressure
* Share rises 1.4 percent
(Adds details from conference call)
By Sylvia Westall
VIENNA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Oil and gas group OMV reported third-quarter earnings ahead of expectations on Wednesday while cautioning that refining margins were expected to remain under pressure until the economy improves further. Vienna-based OMV, the largest energy company operating in emerging Europe, said the market for refined products would be tough for the rest of the year.
"Marketing volumes as well as margins show a slightly positive trend, but are expected to remain under pressure until the broader economy shows clearer signs of more robust improvement," OMV said.
The stock was up 1.4 percent at 27.90 euros by 0942 GMT, topping the Vienna blue chip index and outperforming the sector index which was 0.6 percent lower.
The group's refining margin narrowed in the third quarter because of lower prices for products such as kerosene and diesel, and its production fell due to maintenance shutdowns in Britain and Austria and tighter quotas for OPEC member Libya.
OMV said it was on track to deliver "substantially higher" earnings in the full year as it recovers from the economic downturn of 2009. Analysts on average expect 2010 net income of 1.147 billion euros, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Chief Executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer told a conference call that it was hard to predict earnings in 2011 because of uncertainty about the oil price and foreign exchange levels.
"Overall if the economy further improves, definitely the result of OMV should see a very reasonable level," he said.
EARNINGS BEAT, ONE-OFFS WEIGH
The company said it would fail to meet its full-year production target of 325,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, estimating the figure would be 2 to 3 percent lower due to lower-than-expected volumes from Kazakhstan and Austria.
Net profit in the quarter to the end of September fell 47 percent to 149 million euros ($205.3 million), beating the 75.3 million euro average in an analyst poll.
Underlying earnings, stripping out one-off items including inventory gains and losses, were up by nearly a quarter to 632 million euros, also beating the Reuters poll estimate.
"The results were overall above the consensus, while we would not call this report impressive, mainly due to the one-off items," analyst Tamas Pletser at ING wrote in a note to clients, adding that the stock was still cheap compared to the sector.
"It seems however that the market is still cautious with the story of the company...OMV has to deliver high results constantly without one-offs like in this quarter to convince investors."
OMV's Romanian arm Petrom reported a net loss of 100 million lei ($32.2 million) as low demand hurt sales and the company had to book a special charges of 105 million euros.
The world's biggest oil groups, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, reported higher third-quarter profits last month as the global economy crawls out of recession although demand is still seen as fragile.
OMV, which transports around a third of Russia's gas to Europe through its Baumgarten hub, reiterated that its planned 1 billion euro takeover of Turkish gas station operator Petrol Ofisi should close within the next three months.
OMV wants to develop Turkey as a hub between Europe and the energy-rich Caspian and Middle East regions. It said it had not decided how to fund the acquisition, with all options open. ($1=.7256 Euro) ($1=3.104 Lei) (Editing by Hans Peters)