UPDATE 1-Mobile Mini profit misses market view; shares down

(Recasts; adds details, share movement)

May 8 (Reuters) - Mobile Mini Inc (MINI.O), a provider of portable storage containers, posted lower-than-expected first-quarter profit, due to higher costs, sending its shares down nearly 6 percent.

For the latest quarter, the company reported net income of $10.7 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with $12.7 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 7.6 percent to $78.5 million.

Analysts on average, were expecting earnings of 34 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $78.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

"We note in particular that our business continues to be affected by its relative concentration in the areas of the United States that are experiencing the weakest construction activity -- namely the south-eastern and south-western regions," Chief Executive Steven Bunger said in a statement.

Mobile Mini also backed its full-year forecast of between $1.50 and $1.60 a share, which does not factor in the projected merger-related and branch consolidation expenses that it expects to incur in 2008 and 2009.

Analyst expect earnings of $1.53 a share on revenue of $379.9 million.

Shares of the Tempe, Arizona-based company were trading down $1.26 at $20.56 in morning trade on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Biswarup Gooptu in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)