UPDATE 4-Cost cuts help Mattel profit top Wall St view

* Q2 EPS $0.06 tops Wall Street view of $0.01

* Q2 sales down 19 percent; stronger US dollar hurts

* Barbie sales fall 15 percent; US better than int'l

* Inventory remains light as more pressure expected

* Mattel shares up 5.1 percent (Recasts first paragraph with percentage move, adds further analyst comment, updates shares)

By Aarthi Sivaraman

NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - Toy maker Mattel Inc MAT.N posted a bigger-than-expected 82 percent jump in quarterly profit as cost cuts offset a sales decline and the impact of the stronger U.S. dollar, sending its shares up 5.1 percent.

The maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels, which is trimming the number of toys it makes to fit consumer demand, said it is being cautious about inventory ahead of the holiday sales season.

That caution comes after a rough 2008 holiday season and first quarter, which forced retailers to cut inventory as even indulgent parents resisted buying toys in the recession.

For its part, California-based Mattel cut 1,000 jobs, shaved corporate travel expenses and trimmed advertising and distribution costs to offset weak demand.

In the second quarter, it cut roughly $91 million of costs in areas such as administration and advertising.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Chris White said the market was heartened by how well Mattel controlled costs.

"If the company can grow earnings on a sales decline by cost-cutting, then what can they do when sales actually stop falling?"

Net profit was $21.5 million, or 6 cents a share, in the second quarter, up from $11.8 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, expected 1 cent per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Sales fell 19 percent to $898.2 million. The stronger U.S. dollar, which reduced the value of overseas sales, accounted for 5 percentage points of the decline.