UPDATE 1-DHT Maritime Q1 profit falls on charge

* Q1 EPS $0.17

* Q1 EPS $0.26, excluding items

* Q1 shipping rev rose 20 pct to $29.8 mln

* Sets Q1 dividend of 25 cents

May 19 (Reuters) - Oil tanker company DHT Maritime Inc (DHT.N) posted a 10 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a non-cash financial charge related to interest rate swaps.

For the first quarter, the company earned $6.9 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $7.6 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, the company earned $10.4 million, or 26 cents a share. Shipping revenue rose about 20 percent to $29.8 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 29 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $29.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of the company closed at $4.65 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)