UPDATE 1-Regis Q1 results top Street view

* Q1 oper EPS $0.30 vs est $0.22

* Q1 rev $605.6 mln vs est $597.8 mln

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Hair-salon operator Regis Corp (RGS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a first-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates, helped by cost cuts and higher sales at its Promenade salons.

The company has had to cut capital expenditures, close underperforming stores, as its middle-income customers reduce the frequency of visits to the salon.

For the first quarter ended Sept 30, the company posted a profit of $7.8 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with $14.5 million, or 34 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding non-operational items of pre-payment of debt, store closure and a tax benefit, the company earned 30 cents a share.

Revenue fell 1.3 percent to $605.6 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 22 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $597.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the Minneapolis-based company closed at $15.90 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Shobhana Chadha in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)