CORRECTED - UPDATE 2-Neiman Marcus operating profit rises as sales soar

(Corrects year-earlier Q4 operating earnings to $4.5 million, not billion, in 2nd paragraph)

* Q4 operating profit $17.5 mln vs $4.5 mln

* Full-year EBITDA up 17 percent

* Results echo those of rivals such as Saks, Macy's (Adds details on debt, company valuation)

NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Neiman Marcus Group Inc's [NMRCUS.UL] quarterly operating profit rose sharply as high-end shoppers' growing willingness to pay full price for designer dresses, shoes and handbags sent sales soaring.

Neiman, a privately held operator of a namesake chain of upscale department stores, outlets and Bergdorf Goodman, posted operating earnings of $17.5 million for the fiscal fourth quarter, up from $4.5 million a year earlier.

For the full year, EBITDA, which measures earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and is the figure most closely watched by private equity companies looking to take a company public or sell it, was $524.7 million, up 17 percent from the previous year.

That would value Neiman at $5.4 billion by one methodology commonly used by bankers.

The company, bought for $5.1 billion in 2005 by an investor group led by private equity firms TPG Capital [TPG.UL] and Warburg Pincus LLC [WP.UL], refinanced some of its debt earlier this year and redeemed some senior notes, steps viewed as aiming to ready the retailer for an eventual initial public offering or a sale of the company. The chain won upgrades from rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

Neiman's quarterly results echoed those of rivals such as Saks Inc <SKS.N, Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) and Macy's Inc's (M.N) Bloomingdale's chain. All enjoyed sales gains in their most recent quarters as luxury spending rebounded.

Neiman reported a steeper quarterly net loss of $61.4 million, compared with $32.8 million a year earlier. Most of the increase came from an after-tax loss of $42.7 million on debt extinguishment that was part of the company's efforts to lower its long-term debt, which was $2.7 billion as of July 30.

As previously reported, quarterly revenue rose 11.3 percent, while comparable revenue rose 11 percent.

For the year, revenue came to $4 billion, much higher than last year but still well below the $4.6 billion of fiscal 2008, before the financial crisis struck. (Reporting by Phil Wahba, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)