UPDATE 3-HIV drug sales drive Gilead profit higher

* Gilead 4th-quarter EPS 60 cents

* Product sales rise 35 pct to $1.39 bln

* Sees 2009 product revenue $5.9 bln to $6.0 bln

* Shares fall 2 pct (Adds analyst comment)

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter profit rose 41 percent on increased sales of its drugs to treat the virus that causes AIDS, but its 2009 revenue forecast and the results disappointed investors and its shares fell 2 percent.

Gilead forecast 2009 product revenue of $5.9 billion to $6 billion and cautioned that factors outside its control could affect that projection, including volatile foreign exchange rates.

However, Chief Executive John Martin said, "we believe we are well positioned for any changes in national health care policy.

Wall Street is estimating revenue of about $6.3 billion for the period, although Gilead has a history of exceeding its own early forecasts.

"The company is being pretty cautious on the guidance," said Sanford Bernstein analyst Geoffrey Porges, who is looking for $6.6 billion. "We are assuming that there is continued expansion in the HIV treatment market."

Excluding items, Gilead earned 56 cents per share, topping analyst average expectations by 2 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

But Porges said some investors were looking for the company to far exceed earnings expectations for the quarter, when in fact some U.S. product sales fell a bit short.

The Foster City, California-based biotechnology company posted a net profit of $568.2 million, or 60 cents per share, compared with a profit of $401.6 million, or 41 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 30 percent to $1.43 billion, matching expectations, with product sales up 35 percent for the quarter to $1.39 billion.

Sales of the AIDS drug Truvada rose 25 percent to $562.1 million for the quarter, edging past Wall Street estimates of $559 million. Truvada in 2008 became Gilead's first $2 billion product.

Sales of the newer Atripla, which combines Truvada with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY.N) Sustiva into a single pill, jumped 79 percent to $465.5 million, which was just shy of analyst expectations of about $471 million.

Other antiviral product sales, including the older AIDS drug Viread, rose 5 percent to $245.3 million.

"I thought it was a good quarter," said Jason Kantor, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets.

"Combined Truvada and Viread sales did very well, and these are their highest-margin products. Atripla was a little lower than expected," Kantor said.

Royalty, contract and other revenue resulting primarily from collaborations fell 41 percent to $40.4 million due to lower sales of the Tamiflu flu treatment as global pandemic stockpiling declined.

Gilead gets much of its royalty revenue from Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) sales of Tamiflu.

Gilead shares fell to $47.25 in after hours trading from their $48.23 Nasdaq close. (Additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson; editing by Carol Bishopric)