CORRECTED - UPDATE 3-Mexico's Soriana net down, but sales push stock up

(Corrects stock change, last paragraph) (Adds CFO comments, outlook, byline, updates stock quotes)

By Cyntia Barrera Diaz

MEXICO CITY, July 17 (Reuters) - Soriana, Mexico's No. 2 retailer, on Thursday said second-quarter profit fell 27 percent, hit by rising expenses from a recent acquisition and an advertising campaign that boosted sales sharply.

Soriana (SORIANAB.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), headquartered in the northern city of Monterrey, earned 503 million pesos ($49 million) in the April-to-June period, compared with 689 million pesos a year earlier.

Quarterly operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization, jumped 65 percent to 3.052 billion pesos, hurting the bottom line.

Last year Soriana bought 198 stores from smaller rival Gigante (GIGANTE.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in a $1.35 billion deal.

The acquisition better positioned the company to compete against leader Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and gave Soriana access to the coveted Mexico City market, where it had a limited exposure before the deal.

"This increase is explained by considering in our results the diverse expenses resulting from the integration of the Gigante units ... and a new special investment in advertisement as part of our strategy to enter the new markets," the company said.

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