UPDATE 2-Kinetic Concepts Q3 tops market, backs 2009 view

* Q3 EPS $0.91 vs yr-ago $0.75

* Q3 adj EPS $1.08 vs est $1.05

* Q3 rev $504.4 mln vs $503.3 mln

* Reaffirms 2009 view

* Shares fall 7 pct after touching year-high (Recasts; Adds details, analysts' comments, share movement)

By Shailesh Kuber

BANGALORE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Kinetic Concepts Inc KCI.N posted a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, driven by its regenerative medicine business and lower expenses, but said it expects hospital spending constraints to impact two of its businesses in the second half of the year.

Shares of the medical device maker, which rose to a 52-week high of $38.99 Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange, pared their gains and fell as much as 7 percent Wednesday morning to $35.

The company, which backed its full-year outlook, said it expects lower hospital capital spending to result in a double-digit revenue drop at its therapeutic support systems business, and slower growth at its VAC therapy segment due to competitive and economic factors.

"Effectively, management's guidance range assumes that the pressures on the business in first half of the year, such as the capital spending environment, do not improve in the second half," JP Morgan analyst Michael Weinstein said in a note to clients.

For the third quarter, the company posted a net income of $64.6 million, or 91 cents a share, compared with $53.9 million, or 75 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose marginally to $504.4 million in the quarter, compared with $503.3 million a year.

Adjusted for non-cash items related to acquisitions, the company said it earned $1.08 a share.

Analysts on average had expected $1.05 a share, before items, on revenue of $504 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue from its regenerative medicine business rose 17 percent to $71.8 million.

In the third quarter, gross profit margin was about 55 percent, up about 400 basis points from the same period last year.

Piper Jaffray analyst Matt Miksic said despite stable results and an upside to earnings per share, he remains cautious on the long-term prospects given the increasing competition, pricing pressure and risks to reimbursement that the company faces.

"We believe (these) could be exacerbated by the current environment of healthcare reform and cost control," he said in a note, and maintained his "underweight" rating on the company's stock.

For the full year, the company continues to expect earnings of between $3.95 and $4.10 a share, excluding items, on revenue of $1.95 billion to $2.0 billion.

Shares of Kinetic Concepts were down 5 percent at $35.88 in late morning trade. (Reporting by Shailesh Kuber in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Unnikrishnan Nair)