UPDATE 1-Brazil steelmaker CSN profit edges up in 1st qtr

(Adds CEO and analyst comments)

SAO PAULO, May 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian steelmaker CSN (CSNA3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(SID.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its net profit edged up 0.6 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, when its earnings were inflated by a large one-time gain.

Net income rose to 767 million reais ($462 million) from 763 million reais in the first quarter of 2007, when the company registered a nonrecurring gain of 255 million reais.

The profit was 51 percent higher than in the 2007 fourth quarter, boosted by soaring domestic and international demand for steel products and high prices.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a measure of cash flow known as EBITDA, rose 26 percent from a year ago and 1 percent from the fourth quarter, to 1.3 billion reais.

Net revenue jumped 22 percent from a year earlier to 3 billion reais, the most the company has rung up for any quarter.

The domestic market accounted for 80 percent of CSN's sales in the first quarter. An economic boom in Brazil has helped revive the country's automobile industry, one of the main consumers of CSN's products.

CSN sold 1.4 million tonnes of steel products in the first quarter, up 17 percent from the year-earlier period.

The company's stocks rallied 3.5 percent to 76.79 reais even though the earnings matched most expectations.