* Sports car maker's FY revenues up 17.9 pct to 7.79 bln eur
* Unit sales up 8.8 pct to 81,850 cars, China up 47.5 pct
* Posts record unit sales growth outside core markets
* Sees positive trend continuing in current fiscal year
* Shares flat and off highs, underperforming sector index
(Adds details, analyst, background, updates shares)
FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) - German sports car maker Porsche AG posted record full-year revenues as unit sales outside its core European and North American markets grew by more than a quarter and demand in China boomed.
Global carmakers have been ramping up business in lucrative, fast-growing regions such as China to offset the shakier outlook in traditional markets, where government austerity measures might take a toll on nascent signs of recovery.
Car sales in Europe and North America edged higher, but the company said on Wednesday it sold 3.5 percent fewer cars in its German home market in the 12 months through the end of July.
Its overall car sales gained 8.8 percent as sales in China, the world's fastest-growing major auto market, almost doubled to 11,724 units.
Revenues rose 17.9 percent to a record 7.79 billion euros ($10.5 billion), and Porsche said it expects to see the positive trend continue in the current business year.
Parent company Porsche SE had said in June it expects a loss of under 1 billion euros for the year.
Detailed annual results for Porsche SE, which owns 51 percent of Porsche AG, along with a forecast for the indebted automotive holding company's upcoming rump business year are due on Oct. 19.
Porsche rival BMW this month received approval to set up an auto financing unit in China, becoming the latest foreign automaker to tap the country's fledgling auto financing business.
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen has said it expects China to become its No. 1 market. Volkswagen's premium brand Audi has seen its sales in China jump by 63 percent this year.
Porsche shares swung through a wide range and traded flat at 35.515 euros by 1004 GMT. The STOXX 600 European auto sector index, which has gained more than 10 percent this month, was up 0.6 percent.
"There's no doubt that these numbers are excellent. The only problem is that the lawsuit against Porsche in the U.S. is still under way," Alpha brokerage trader Stefan de Schutter said.
A group of investment funds have sued Porsche SE and two of its former top executives, accusing them of fraud in a "short squeeze" that caused the funds to lose more than $1 billion during Porsche's attempted takeover of Volkswagen in 2008.
"In the short term these numbers will boost shares, but in the medium term and maybe the long term the decision in this court case will be the determining factor in the development of the Porsche shares," de Schutter said. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan, Josie Cox, Peter Dinkloh; writing by Christiaan Hetzner, Maria Sheahan and Josie Cox; Editing by Michael Shields)