UPDATE 2-NII Q1 profit tops Street, shares climb

* Q1 adj EPS of 43 cents beats estimates by 7 cents

* Q1 revenue misses estimates

* Cuts 2009 capex view to $750 mln-$800 mln

* Sees 2009 operating rev of $4.1 bln-$4.3 bln

* Shares rise 13 pct (Recasts; adds details from conference call, analyst comments, share movement)

BANGALORE, April 23 (Reuters) - Latin American wireless carrier NII Holdings Inc (NIHD.O) posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by a 28 percent rise in its subscriber base, and retained its 2009 revenue outlook, sending its shares up as much as 13 percent.

The company -- which targets business customers in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile under the Nextel brand -- added more subscribers despite facing currency and economic issues in Mexico and Argentina.

The gross subscriber additions meant demand for NII's services remained strong, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King said.

"The differentiation is still there. They continue to take market share from their competitors," King added.

Reston, Virginia-based NII competes with Mexican mobile operator America Movil (AMX.N) (AMXL.MX) -- controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim -- and Spanish telephony giant Telefonica (TEF.MC).

But churn -- a measure of customer attrition -- rose to 2.1 percent, compared with 1.8 percent a year ago, due to the weak economic conditions in the region, particularly in Mexico. Mexico and Brazil are the company's biggest markets.

"Churn in Mexico will continue to be challenging for the rest of the year," Chief Financial Officer Gokul Hemmady said in a conference call with analysts.

Average revenue per user slumped by about $15 to $42 in the quarter due to weakening local currencies and lower usage levels, Hemmady said.

Earlier this month, NII said it added fewer subscribers than it had expected in the first quarter and lowered its outlook for net subscriber growth for 2009. [ID:nBNG441222]

Q1 PROFIT BEATS

First-quarter net income fell to $70.6 million, or 43 cents per share, from $106.8 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 3 percent to $961.3 million. [ID:nWNAB6782]