UPDATE 1-Polish PGE Q3 net profit up 52 pct on higher prices

* Net profit up 52 pct to 727 mln zlotys

* Sales up 13 pct to 4.77 bln zlotys

WARSAW, Nov 16 (Reuters) - PGE PGEPa.WA, Poland's largest utility, reported a 52 percent net profit rise in the third quarter thanks to higher power prices and lower financial costs.

The state-controlled utility, which completed its 6 billion zlotys ($2.2 billion) listing earlier this month in Europe's largest initial public offer this year, said on Monday it earned 727 million zlotys on sales of 4.77 billion in thw quarter.

In the year-ago period, it had a net profit of 476 million zlotys on sales of 4.22 billion.

Reuters did not compile a poll for PGE results as most analysts had not prepared quarterly forecasts.

"The biggest increase in revenues was in sales of finished goods and merchandise, which increased by 608.5 million zlotys mainly as a result of increase of electricity wholesale and retail prices," PGE said in a statement.

PGE shares are trading some 13 percent above their IPO price to value Warsaw's largest listed Polish company at some $16 billion zlotys.

PGE is Poland's largest power producer, generating 42 percent of its energy. It issued new shares to fund extensive modernisation of outdated and heavily polluting coal-fired generators as well as Poland's first nuclear power plant. ($1=2.774 zloty) (Reporting by Chris Borowski; Editing by Mike Nesbit)