CORRECTED - CORRECTED-Daiichi Sankyo Apr-Dec profit down but lifts outlook

(Corrects paragraph 3 to...blood thinner ..., not cholestrol drug)

TOKYO Jan 29 (Reuters) - Japan's No. 3 drugmaker, Daiichi Sankyo (4568.T), said on Friday its nine-month recurring profit fell 2.7 percent, but it upgraded its outlook citing a recovery at its Indian unit Ranbaxy Laboratories (RANB.BO).

Daiichi's April-December recurring profit dipped to 90.6 billion yen ($1.0 billion) from 93.2 billion yen a year earlier on the back of the strong yen and higher spending to develop drugs, such as key blood clot drug DU-176b in the costly final stage of clinical trials.

Daiichi's profits were also weighed down by initial marketing costs for Effient, the potential blockbuster blood thinner which Daiichi and Eli Lilly (LLY.N) jointly launched in the United States and in the U.K. earlier this business year.

For the year to March, Daiichi lifted its recurring profit forecast to 100 billion yen from 69.0 billion yen. The average SmartEstimate from Thomson Reuters StarMine, which weights analyst forecasts according to their record for accuracy, was for a profit of 89 billion yen.

Ranbaxy, India's largest generic drug maker, posted a profit in July-September for the second straight quarter. [ID:nDEL265412] Daiichi consolidates the results of Ranbaxy, in which it bought a majority stake in late 2008, with a quarter timelag.

In the past three months, Daiichi Sankyo shares rose 10 percent percent to 1,932 yen as of Thursday's close, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 average .N225 remained flat. (Reporting by Yumiko Nishitani)