* Q3 net profit falls 5.6 pct to 134 mln eur
* Reuters poll avg was 113 mln, RBI own consensus 127 mln
* Keeps outlook and reiterates capital increase an option (Adds details from earnings statement)
VIENNA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Third-quarter net profit at Raiffeisen Bank International fell 5.6 percent to 134 million euros ($182 million), central and eastern Europe's second-biggest lender said on Wednesday, beating expectations thanks to good interest income.
It stuck to its outlook that its 2013 net provisioning requirement would rise to as much as 1.2 billion euros - after a 28 percent rise to 800 million in the first nine months.
It said loans to customers would be steady despite "tense" conditions in several of its markets, and reiterated that a capital increase was an option depending on market conditions.
Concern about a rights issue explain why RBI shares trade below 9 times 12-month forward earnings, a discount to Austrian rival Erste Group on over 11 times, according to StarMine, which weights analyst estimates by previous accuracy.
Analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected net profit after minorities to fall by a fifth to 113 million euros. RBI had compiled its own consensus forecasts that saw net profit of 127 million.
"Thanks to our substantially improved net interest margin, we were able to increase the operating income by almost 7 percent within the first nine months," said Chief Executive Karl Sevelda, who took the helm in June.
He gave no details on how many job cuts would accompany RBI's drive to save 450 million euros over the next three years.
The Vienna-based bank's non-performing loan ratio rose to 10.3 percent at the end of September from 9.8 percent at the end of last year, while its NPL coverage ratio sank to 66.1 percent from 67.0 percent.
In slides prepared for a conference call, the bank gave no update on the status of a special review of markets in Hungary, Slovenia or Ukraine, countries from which it has not ruled out an exit.
($1 = 0.7374 euros) (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)