UPDATE 3-Shaw profit lifted by tax gain, subscriber jump

(Adds CEO and analyst comment, changes dateline from Ottawa)

TORONTO, April 11 (Reuters) - Shaw Communications Inc (SJRb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Canada's No. 2 cable and satellite TV company, said on Friday that second-quarter net profit more than tripled, lifted by a C$188 million ($184 million) tax recovery, strong subscriber gains and higher prices.

Shaw also repeated that it plans to participate in the upcoming auction of Canadian wireless spectrum and will bid on licenses as it deems appropriate. It would fund any license purchase from free cash flow and an existing credit facility if needed, it said.

And in a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Jim Shaw hinted the company was leaning toward rolling out a network if its bids at next month's auction are successful.

"Shaw will not deploy if the economic model does not work in the long term," he said. "And when we see the economic model on wireless, it looks to us like it works."

Shaw's stronger results helped lift the stock 5 percent to C$21.20 on the Toronto Stock Exchange and ahead 4 percent to $20.76 in New York. So far this year, the shares are down about 10 percent.

The company earned C$299 million, or 69 Canadian cents a share, in the three months ended Feb. 29. That was up from a profit of C$80 million, or 18 Canadian cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding non-operating items, profit rose to C$113 million from C$79 million.

Service operating income before amortization jumped 15 percent to C$350 million, above analysts' average forecast of C$344 million.