CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Alcon second-quarter profit rises 26 pct

(Corrects 3rd paragraph to remove comparison figure that adjusted for one-time items)

LOS ANGELES, July 23 (Reuters) - Eye care company Alcon Inc (ACL.N) reported a 26 percent increase in second-quarter net income on Wednesday, driven by increased sales and foreign exchange gains.

Acon said net profit rose to $566.4 million, or $1.88 per share, from $448.4 million, or $1.48 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1.74 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Earlier this month, Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) completed the acquisition of a 25 percent stake in Alcon. It was the first step in Novartis' agreement to acquire a majority stake in Alcon from Nestle SA (NESN.VX).

Global sales for the quarter rose 18 percent to $1.7 billion. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, the gain was 11 percent, Alcon said.

"Revenues in both developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. were particularly robust, while our advanced technology intraocular lenses and glaucoma franchise continued to deliver excellent sales growth," Chief Executive Cary Rayment said in a statement.

Citing continued foreign exchange gains, Alcon raised its full-year earnings per share target to between $6.48 and $6.54 from its April estimate of $6.39 to $6.49. It also said full-year sales would range from $6.46 billion to $6.51 billion, up from its April estimate of $6.4 billion to $6.5 billion.

Shares of Alcon, which fell 3.2 percent to close at $159.85 on the New York Stock Exchange, were not trading after hours. (Reporting by Deena Beasley, editing by Mark Porter)