UPDATE 2-Sberbank net below forecast,provisions rise slowing

* Net profit $144 million, provisions up 27 pct

* NPL rise to 7.9 pct from 6.4 pct in Q2, increase slowing

* Analysts expect improvements in the fourth quarter

* Gains 8.2 bln rbls on trading operations

(Adds analysts comments, details)

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender, missed forecasts with third quarter net profit but analysts took heart from slowing bad loan growth which they said could pave the way for a stronger performance in coming months.

The state-run bank posted a net profit of 4.2 billion roubles ($143.6 million) in January-September, undershooting analysts' forecasts of 5.1 billion roubles, as provisions for bad loans rose by more than expected.

But the rate of growth in non-performing loans fell in the third quarter to 1.5 percentage points from 2.9 points in the second, Sberbank said.

"The third quarter was crucial for the bank as the rise of non-performing loans has slowed down significantly. In the fourth quarter if we see a decrease in provision charges with an unchanged income, the results would be much more positive," said Leonid Slipchenko, an analyst at Uralsib.

Russia's banks have been hit hard by a recession, which has left an increasing number of debtors unable to repay loans. But recent newsflow points to some improvement in both the broader economy and the financial sector.

Sberbank increased provisions by 105.8 billion roubles, or 27 percent, to 493.8 billion while the share of non-performing loans rose to 7.9 percent of its total loan portfolio from 6.4 percent in the second quarter.

The coverage ratio of provisions to the loan book reached 8.9 percent compared with 3.8 percent at the beginning of the reporting period, the bank said.

Leila Sharifullina at Alfa Bank said that if Sberbank sticks by its forecast that the ratio will reach 10 percent by year-end, it will only need to channel off a relatively small sum into provisions in the fourth quarter, leaving it with a bigger profit.

Sberbank's shares were down 1.8 percent by 0911 GMT, faring slightly better than the broad Russian stock market .

The coverage ratio for non-performing loans -- loan loss provisions to non-performing loans -- stood at 1.1 as at Sept. 30, the bank said.

Sberbank gained 8.2 billion roubles on revaluations and from securities trading, while the value of its portfolio grew by 42.6 pct in January-September to 704.1 billion roubles. (Writing by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by David Cowell)