UPDATE 2-Regis Q4 profit tops Street view, shares rise

* Q4 adj EPS $0.59 vs est $0.46

* Revenue falls 3 pct to $624.7 mln

* Maintains view on fiscal 2010

* Shares rise 15 pct

(Adds conference call and analyst comments, updates stock movement)

By Vidya Lakshmi

BANGALORE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Hair-salon operator Regis Corp (RGS.N) posted a better-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit, helped by cost control measures and better traffic at its Promenade salons, sending its shares up 15 percent.

Regis has had to cut capital expenditures, close underperforming stores and sell its loss-making Trade Secret retail-product division, as its middle-income consumers reduce the frequency of visits to the salon amid the economic downturn.

In the fourth quarter, cost savings came from payroll and reduced travel expenses and workers comp costs, Chief Executive Paul Finkelstein said on a conference call with analysts.

Finkelstein said product margins on promotional items also improved.

"Gross margins were better than expected... the earnings came more from gross margins rather than sales," C.L. King & Associates Inc analyst William Armstrong said by phone.

Armstrong said sales would remain weak for at least for the next six months.

The Minneapolis-based company said it expected fiscal 2010 same-store sales to range between a decline of 3 percent to an increase of 1 percent.

Regis posted a fourth-quarter loss of $4.6 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a profit of $23.1 million, or 54 cents a share, last year.

Excluding items, the company posted a profit of 59 cents a share.

Revenue fell 3 percent to $624.7 million.