UPDATE 3-Brown-Forman Q2 profit rises; boosts 2009 outlook

* Q2 EPS 94 cents tops Wall Street view by a penny

* Q2 sales up 5 pct to $934.7 mln

* Raises '09 EPS view to $3.00-$3.20

* Shares rise nearly 8 percent in morning trade (Adds byline and comments from CEO, analyst)

By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Brown-Forman Corp (BFb.N) reported better-than-expected profit, helped by higher sales of Jack Daniel's whiskey and Finlandia vodka, and raised its full-year forecast on a one-time gain, sending its shares up nearly 8 percent.

Spirits sales have held up in the current recession, though several companies have said consumers are going out less and drinking at home more. This has hurt sales of Brown-Forman's Southern Comfort, which people more commonly drink at bars, the company said.

"Thus far we are doing fine," said Chief Executive Paul Varga on a conference call, referring to the impact of the financial crisis on Brown-Forman's business. "These results also reinforce our belief that premium wines and spirits are an affordable luxury in both good times and bad."

In the first half of the fiscal year, worldwide shipments of Jack Daniel's rose in the mid-single digits in percentage terms, as declines in Germany, Britain and Spain partially offset gains in the United States, Eastern Europe, Australia and Latin America.

Finlandia's worldwide shipments rose at a high-single-digit rate, driven by strength in Eastern Europe.

Net income at Brown-Forman, which also makes Herradura tequila, rose to $143.2 million, or 94 cents per share, in the fiscal second quarter ended Oct. 31, from $129.4 million, or 83 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts, on average, expected 93 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net sales rose about 5 percent to $934.7 million.

Net sales for Southern Comfort fell at a low-single-digit rate, though shipment trends improved slightly in the second quarter, the company said.

Despite the overall increase, one analyst expressed caution about the future.

"We continue to believe Brown-Forman will face challenges from the difficult macro-environment globally," wrote UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala in a research note. "We expect trends to worsen in Western & Eastern Europe, and despite easy comps (comparisons) are likely to soften in the U.S."