UPDATE 2-Cardinal posts net profit vs loss, beats Street

* Adj EPS 64 cents vs Street view 53 cents

* Revenue slips 1 percent

* Repeats FY '11 outlook, says top end of range achievable (Adds outlook, details, analyst comment, background, shares)

CHICAGO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Cardinal Health Inc (CAH.N) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit despite weaker sales in its pharmaceutical and medical businesses.

Management reiterated its forecast for earnings of $2.38 to $2.48 per share in the current fiscal year, which ends next June, and indicated confidence in achieving the higher end of that range.

Fiscal first-quarter net earnings were $294.8 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $38.2 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier, when the company took charges related to its spinoff of Carefusion Inc (CFN.N).

Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were 64 cents per share, up 19 percent from a year earlier and above the average Wall Street estimate of 53 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue slipped 1 percent to $24.4 billion; sales in both its pharmaceutical and medical businesses dropped.

Bernstein analyst Helene Wolk wrote in a research note: "While Cardinal attributes its strong performance to growth in generics, given the sizable beat and lack of guidance raise, there may also be a timing issue. Higher-than-anticipated share repurchases also contributed to the beat relative to expectations."

She said revenue generated by the Medical Distribution segment was slightly below expectations.

Earlier this week, responding to market rumors of a possible leveraged buyout that drove its shares higher, Cardinal denied having talks about selling itself.

The shares closed at $33.41 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. They have traded in a range between $36.66 and $28.23 during the past 52 weeks. (Reporting by Debra Sherman; Editing by Derek Caney and John Wallace)