UPDATE 1-Arcelik Q2 net profit up 156 pct, beats f'cast

* Q2 net profit triples to 204 million lira

* Sales dip to 1.7 bln lira from 1.8 bln lira last year

(Adds details, background)

ISTANBUL, July 30 (Reuters) - Arcelik (ARCLK.IS), Turkey's leading white-goods manufacturer and Europe's third-largest producer, said on Thursday net profit rose 156 percent on the year in the second quarter, higher than a Reuters forecast.

It made 204.2 million lira, compared with 79.6 million in the second quarter last year.

In a Reuters poll of nine analysts, net profit was seen at 53.3 million lira, while sales were seen at 1.691 billion lira.

Sales were lower in the second quarter at 1.73 billion lira against 1.8 billion lira in the same period last year, according to a company statement posted online.

"When we look at the top line, sales, we see there is not a huge difference, but profit margins are much higher than before," said Cemal Demirtas, analyst at Oyak Securities.

Higher profit margins were attributed to new restructuring of the company and its debts following a February merger with its television-manufacturing unit Grundig.

The Istanbul-based company was expected to have picked up a one-off tax gain in the quarter due to the Grundig merger. Demirtas also said lower steel prices had helped the company cut expenses in the second quarter.

Arcelik, owned by conglomerate Koc Holding (KCHOL.IS), previously reported a net profit of 53.4 million lira in the first quarter on the Istanbul Stock Exchange website.

Arcelik shares were the second most-traded stock in Istanbul's blue-chip index on Thursday and closed the day 7.14 percent higher on the day at 2.70 lira ahead of the earnings announcement.

Arcelik's stock has risen 71 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the index of leading shares .XU100, which has risen some 55 percent since Dec. 31.

Of the analysts following the stock, eight rate it a "hold", three rate it "underperform" and one a "sell".