UPDATE 1-China's Ctrip Q2 rises, travel drops for Olympics

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BEIJING, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Ctrip.com (CTRP.O), China's top online travel agent, posted on Wednesday a 35 percent rise in second-quarter net profit but said revenue growth would slow this quarter because of a drop in domestic travel during the Olympics.

Ctrip.com said a drop in air traffic caused by May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan would continue into the third quarter due to a slowdown in business and individual travel during the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.

The Shanghai-based firm said it expected its revenue to grow in the range of 15-20 percent in the third quarter and slightly lowered its whole-year revenue growth rate guidance to 30-35 percent from 35 percent.

Jane Sun, chief financial officer of the company, said many leisure and business travellers were delaying trips until after the Games.

"So we've seen the market has slowed down during the Olympics," she said. "But our expectation is in the fourth quarter all the business and travel volume will be back to normal," Sun told an analysts' telephone conference.

Ctrip.com International Ltd said second-quarter earnings rose to $17 million from $12 million a year earlier.

The figure represented 25 cents per American Depositary Share, slightly lower than the $0.27 forecast by analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

The company's second-quarter revenues were $55 million, up 30 percent from a year earlier and higher than analysts' estimates of $53.56 million.

The firm's Nasdaq-listed shares closed down 5.66 percent at $45.79 prior to the results and fell as low as $39.50, a loss of 9.6 percent on the day, in after-hours trade.

Cost controls contributed to the rise in second-quarter earnings as the company tightened its belt following the Sichuan earthquake, which dampened sentiment in the tourism market.

Sales and marketing expenses fell to 17 percent of total revenue in the second quarter from 19 percent a year earlier, the company said. ($=6.8610 yuan) (Reporting by Michael Wei; Editing by Alan Wheatley)