UPDATE 1-Blue Coat 3rd-qtr profit up, sees Q4 above Street view

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Feb 21 (Reuters) - Internet monitoring equipment maker Blue Coat Systems Inc BCSI.O posted third-quarter profit and forecast fourth-quarter results above market expectations, helped by a strong Wide Area Network application market.

Quarterly profit soared to $10.5 million, or 26 cents a share, from $42,000, or break-even on a per share basis, a year earlier. Excluding items, it earned 38 cents a share.

Net revenue jumped 73 percent to $81.4 million.

Analysts had expected earnings of 33 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $80.1 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company based in Sunnyvale, California has been combining its security gateway and WAN optimisation products, its two main segments, into a single product aimed at the WAN application delivery (WAD) market.

Looking ahead, Blue Coat forecast fourth-quarter profit of 37 cents to 41 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $88 million to $91 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 35 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $85.2 million.

Shares of the company, whose competitors include Riverbed Technology Inc (RVBD.O), Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O), Juniper Networks Inc JNPR.O, Packeteer Inc PKTR.O and F5 Networks Inc (FFIV.O), closed at $28.42 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Savio D'Souza in Bangalore; Editing by Amitha Rajan)