CORRECTED - (OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 1-Turkish Airlines Q1 profit down 24 pct

(Official correction following company clarified statement to make clear that net profit fell while net sales rose by 18 percent in the first quarter year-on-year)

* Q1 net profit down 24 pct at 155 mln lira

* Q1 sales jump 18 percent (Adds details, background)

ISTANBUL, May 15 (Reuters) - Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS), the country's state-run carrier, said on Friday first-quarter net profit fell 24 percent to 155 million lira ($99 million).

Sales rose 18 percent to 1.279 billion lira, the company said in a statement.

Decreasing fuel prices had a positive effect on fuel expenses, whose share of total expenses declined to 22 percent from 32 percent, the company said in a statement.

The airline was expected to make 114 million lira in the first three months of the year, according to a Reuters poll. Turkish Airlines posted a net profit of 203.55 million lira in the first quarter of 2008, it said in a statement. An airlines spokesman said the profit figures published adhered to new disclosure rules set by the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Turkish Airlines has expanded its fleet to 132 from 102 at the start of 2008 as it seeks to take market share from European rivals.

But all airlines face slower traffic. World airline traffic fell 12 percent in March alone amid an expected global recession.

The increased capacity has led to more empty seats. Despite lifting passenger numbers by 8.4 percent to 4.9 million people in the first quarter, its passenger load factor, or the number of available seats its fills, fell to 66 percent in March.

Shares in Turkish Airlines rose 2.56 percent to 0.80 lira on Friday before it released its earnings statement. The stock has gained about 50 percent this year, outperforming the main share index .XU100, which has climbed about 20 percent. (Writing by Thomas Grove)