(Updates with analyst comment in fourth paragraph.)

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Tenet Healthcare Corp., the third- largest U.S. hospital operator, reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst estimates as increasing numbers of patients received medical treatment.

Third-quarter profit was 4 cents a share, the Dallas-based company said in a statement today. That was more than the break- even estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 3.5 percent to $2.34 billion.

Cost controls and price increases in new contracts with managed-care providers also boosted results, Tenet said. The hospital operator reaffirmed its full-year forecast for profit near the lower end of a $1.175 billion to $1.275 billion range.

“A 2.3 percent increase in adjusted admissions along with a 3.2 percent increase in surgeries drove nice strong top-line growth,” said Art Henderson, an analyst at Jefferies & Co in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tenet rose 1.9 percent to $4.82 at 9:57 a.m. New York time.

Third-quarter net income plunged to 6 million, or 2 cents a share, from $932 million, or $1.68, a year earlier, the company said. The year-ago results included a $981 million, or $1.75 a share, tax benefit.

--Editors: Bruce Rule, Reg Gale.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pat Wechsler in New York at pwechsler@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.