UPDATE 1-National CineMedia Q4 beats Street, sees strong Q1 rev

* Q4 EPS $0.26 vs $0.25 est

* Q4 rev $118.6 mln vs $116.7 mln est

* Sees Q1 rev $80-$83 mln

March 8 (Reuters) - In-theatre digital advertising company National CineMedia Inc (NCMI.O) posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by higher revenue from advertising and Fathom Events, and forecast strong first quarter revenue.

The company expects first-quarter revenue of $80 million to $83 million. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $78.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the fourth quarter, National CineMedia earned $11.2 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a loss of $13.8 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $118.6 million.

Analysts had expected earnings of 25 cents per share, on revenue of $116.7 million.

Advertising revenue rose 2 percent to $103.2 million, while revenue from Fathom Events, a division of National CineMedia, grew 43 percent to $15.3 million.

Shares of the company closed at $16.36 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Manasi Phadke in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)