UPDATE 1-Nakilat Q1 net profit triples, below forecasts

DOHA, April 14 (Reuters) - Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat), the world's largest shipper of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said first-quarter profit more than tripled, but the results fell short of analysts expectations.

On Wednesday, Nakilat reported first-quarter profit of 163.4 million Qatari riyals ($44.91 million) compared with 54.1 million in the first quarter of 2009.

Analysts polled by Reuters predicted the company would post first-quarter profits of 192 million riyals.

The company reported earnings per Share (EPS) of 0.29 riyals versus 0.10 riyals in the year-earlier period.

Last year, Nakilat raised $949 million to fund new ships, the last tranche of a $6.8 billion financing program begun in 2006 to fund the building of 25 LNG ships at South Korean shipyards.

Qatar has said that it would complete the expansion of its LNG production capacity by September, adding a remaining 15 million tonnes per year to existing capacity of 62 tpy. Qatar is the world's leading exporter of LNG.

($1=3.638 Qatari Riyals)

(Reporting by Regan E Doherty; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: NAKILAT EARNINGS/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.