Nov 5 (Reuters) - Athletic-shoes maker K-Swiss Inc (KSWS.O) reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss as it scaled down inventory and controlled costs, and forecast a smaller 2009 loss.

www.Kswiss.com

"The third quarter results were in line with our expectations, as we worked through remaining inventories, scaled up the sales of Palladium and continued investing in Classic, running, and tennis development," Chairman Steven Nichols said in a statement.

K-Swiss, which sells athletic, training, and children's shoes, apparel and accessories, trimmed its inventory by 25 percent and reduced selling, general and administrative by 17 percent during the quarter.

The shoemaker sees a 2009 loss of 70 cents to 80 cents a share, on revenue of $230 million to $240 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 87 cents a share, on revenue of $224.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the third quarter, K-Swiss swung to a net loss of 8 cents a share, compared with a profit 3 cents a share.

Revenue at the company, which sells its products under the K-Swiss and Royal Elastics brands in the United States and Europe, slumped 24 percent to $70.6 million.

Analysts were looking for a loss of 20 cents, on revenue of $ 60.03 million. The Westlake Village, California-based company's shares, which have nearly halved in the last 12 months, closed at $7.74 Wednesday 4 November on Nasdaq.

For the alerts, double-click (Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)