UPDATE 1-GN posts unexpected Q3 loss, cuts outlook

* GN Q3 EBITA loss 27 mln DKK (Reuters poll 36 mln profit)

* GN ReSound Q3 EBITA 4 mln DKK (poll 78 mln)

* Cuts 2008 EBITA outlook on weak U.S. headset market

(Adds details, quotes share price)

COPENHAGEN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Danish hearing aid and headset maker GN Store Nord (GN.CO) posted an unexpected loss in the third quarter on Thursday and cut its full-year outlook, citing a weak U.S. market for office and mobile headsets.

The company reported an operating loss of 27 million Danish crowns ($4.7 million), versus a profit of 67 million crowns in the year-ago period and 36 million crowns expected in a Reuters poll of analysts.

GN now expects full-year operating profit of 50 million to 100 million crowns, including non-recurring costs, down from 200 million to 300 million previously.

It cut the full-year operating profit guidance for its hearing aid unit, ReSound, to between 125 million and 175 million crowns from 250-300 million previously.

"The downgrade in ReSound was bigger than I expected," said Morten Imsgaard, an analyst at Sydbank. "I would have thought that their relatively strong product portfolio would have shone through more in the earnings report."

The company said the cut was due to a more cautious view on organic growth in the fourth quarter and a lower-than-expected gross margin, but added that market growth in the hearing instrument industry would remain robust in the long term.

Sales at Netcom, GN's office and call-centre headsets unit, shrank 6 percent in the quarter on an organic basis, but the unit still managed to gain market share in a tough economic environment.

"Netcom is definitely affected by the financial crisis," said GN Vice President Jens Bille Bergholdt. "In call centres and offices, 30 percent of the market is the financial sector."

GN said companies were being more cautious about spending, delaying buying replacements and deferring first-time purchases of their equipment.

Sales of mobile phone headsets fell 7 percent, but grew in the U.S., where more states had banned talking on cellphones while driving, unless using a headset.

By 1352 GMT, GN shares were down 2.4 percent at 12 crowns, while the Copenhagen top 20 index was down 0.6 percent. (Reporting by Gelu Sulugiuc, editing by Will Waterman)