UPDATE 1-Apollo Group Q1 profit beats Street view, shares rise

* Q1 EPS $1.12 beats estimate 98 cents

* Q1 revenue $971.0 mln vs est $912.6 mln

* Shares rise 8 pct

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Apollo Group Inc (APOL.O), the parent company of the University of Phoenix, posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates, helped by a rise in enrollment, sending its shares up 8 percent.

For the first quarter ended Nov. 30, net income was $180.4 million, or $1.12 a share, compared with $139.9 million, or 83 cents a share, a year ago.

"While we cannot quantify the significance of the current economy on our growth, we believe we are experiencing a positive impact, and we continue to generate meaningful cash flow," Chief Executive Chas Edelstein said in a statement.

Total degreed enrollment in the first quarter grew 18.4 percent.

Shares of the Phoenix-based company were up 8 percent at $83.50 in trading after the bell. They had closed at $77.22 Thursday on Nasdaq.

For the alerts, double-click on [ID:nWNAB8124] (Reporting by Mary Meyase in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)