UPDATE 3-AB InBev sees Q4 profit growth, improved volume

* Q3 core profit up 11.9 pct, more than expected

* Q3 revenue down 0.4 pct, worse than expected

* Forecasts similar year-on-year growth in Q4

* Q3 volumes down 3.2 pct, says Q4 will be better

* Shares little changed after lower opening

(Updates after conference calls with share price, adds graphic)

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), the world's top brewer, grew quarterly core earnings by slightly more than expected thanks to cost cuts and higher prices, and forecast a similar profit rise in the last three months.

A year after its creation from Belgian InBev's takeover of U.S. rival Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck's said on Thursday prices, lower input costs and merger savings enabled it to offset a 3.2 percent fall in volumes.

It said cost of sales per hectolitre would dip this year, better than its previous forecast of flat to a slight increase, and that the year-on-year volume comparison would be healthier in October to December, although not necessarily positive.

AB InBev shares, which have roughly doubled this year, were 0.3 percent lower at 32.00 euros at 1510 GMT, compared with a 0.2 percent drop of the DJ STOXX European food and beverage index .SX3P.

Trevor Stirling, analyst at Bernstein Research, said the shares' weakness was from an early perception of softness in the numbers. Revenues were lower than expected.

"There were a lot of little things, some non-recurring, nothing fundamental," he said.

Gerard Rijk, analyst at ING in Amsterdam, said revenues were weaker than expected, core profit stronger and the fourth-quarter forecast "comforting".

KBC Securities analyst Wim Hoste cut his rating to "hold" from "accumulate", arguing the shares were no longer cheap.

For a graphic showing the shares trading at a premium, double click here

Volumes in all regions fell, with the exception of Brazil.

Eastern Europe saw particularly tough market conditions, with Russians drinking 20.4 percent less of the company's beer. U.S. shipments also fell, partly because of a surge last year around the introduction of Bud Light Lime.

DOWNTURN HITS VOLUMES

The fall in volumes underlined the problems the beer industry is facing due to poor economic conditions, notably in top developed markets and in eastern Europe.

World number two SABMiller (SAB.L) reported a 1 percent decline in volumes for its half-year to the end of September [ID:nLE224038].

Number three Heineken's (HEIN.AS) volumes were down 4.7 percent on a like-for-like basis in the third quarter [ID:nLS393866], while fourth-largest brewer Carlsberg's (CARLb.CO) were off 5 percent. [ID:nL4540540]

But like AB InBev, all have benefited from price increases and cost control. An extra $265 million of synergy gains from the merger led to improved margins in the third quarter.

The company forecast its much-watched core profit or EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) would show similar year-on-year gains in the fourth quarter as in the third.

The figure for the July-September period was $3.55 billion, against the average $3.52 billion forecast in a Reuters poll of 16 analysts. [ID:nL9286279]. Excluding divested Korean business and at constant exchange rates, that was an 11.9 percent rise.

InBev bought its U.S. rival for $52 billion last year and has targeted $2.25 billion in synergy savings in three years. It said on Thursday it remained on track to reach $1 billion this year, having hit $875 million in the year to date.

Chief Financial Officer Felipe Dutra said the company was likely to do better than this, but that the target held. AB InBev would need to increasingly look to revenue synergies -- such as boosting growth by selling Budweiser in more markets.

Over the past year, the company has since raised a potential $9.4 billion from asset sales, has issued nearly $20 billion in bonds and its shares have more than tripled.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito said the divestment programme was now complete, but that the board remained fully committed to deleveraging rather than seeking to boost the dividend. AB InBev has predicted it will be paying out a level similar to that of 2007 for a couple of years. (Editing by Dale Hudson and Sitaraman Shankar)