Thai AIS Q2 net profit up 42 pct, just above forecast

BANGKOK Aug 10 (Reuters) - Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) , Thailand's top mobile phone operator, reported a 42 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Friday due to higher revenue from both voice and data services, helped by smartphones and tablets.

AIS, 23.3 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd , posted a net profit of 8.71 billion baht ($276 million) for the April-June period, up from a revised 6.12 billion a year earlier but down from a record 8.93 billion in the first quarter.

The result was slightly higher than the average forecast of 8.6 billion from 10 analysts polled by Reuters.

AIS, Southeast Asia's biggest wireless firm by market value, has about 50 percent of the market in Thailand, ahead of Total Access Communication's roughly 30 percent.

Shares in AIS, valued at $19 billion, have outperformed the market in the past 12 months on expectations the company will benefit from an auction of third-generation mobile service licences expected in the third quarter.

The stock hit a record high of 215 baht in July.

($1 = 31.52 baht) (Reporting by Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Alan Raybould)