UPDATE 1-HealthSouth Q3 profit beats Street; ups 2009 EPS view

* Q3 adj cont ops EPS $0.38 beats Street by 14 cents

* Revenue rises 4 pct to $472.7 mln

* Raises 2009 EPS view to $1.45-$1.50

* Shares rise 5 pct

Nov 3 (Reuters) - HealthSouth Corp (HLS.N), a leading operator of rehabilitation hospitals, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher discharge volume, and raised its 2009 adjusted earnings forecast, sending its shares up 5 percent.

For the third quarter, HealthSouth reported net income attributable to the company of $16.8 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with $6.6 million, or breakeven a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, the company earned 38 cents a share from continuing operations.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $472.7 million, primarily driven by a 5 percent increase in patient discharges. The company gets paid when patients are discharged.

Analysts on average expected earnings of 24 cents a share, excluding special items, on revenue of $474.0 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company forecast 2009 adjusted earnings of $1.45 to $1.50 a share, up from its prior forecast of $1.15 to $1.25 a share.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.32 a share for the period.

Shares of the company were up 75 cents at $16.48 in trading after the bell. They closed at $15.73 Tuesday on New York Stock Exchange.

For the alerts, double-click [ID:nWNAB9448] (Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)