CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Yum's China growth pushes 1st-qtr profit up

(Corrects in 3rd paragraph to show profit of 42 cents excludes gain of 8 cents per share)

LOS ANGELES, April 22 (Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc, operator of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, posted a bigger-than-expected jump in quarterly profit on Tuesday, fueled by growth in China, and raised its full-year forecast.

Shares at Yum (YUM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 3.8 percent after it said first-quarter net income jumped to $254 million, or 50 cents per share, from $194 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a gain of 8 cents per share from the sale of aminority interest in KFC Japan and other items, the per-share profit was 42 cents. Analysts, on average, looked for 40 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Worldwide sales at stores open at least one year were up 4 percent, including 12 percent growth from mainland China.

Yum raised its forecast for 2008 per-share earnings from $1.85 per share to $1.87 per share, excluding special items that would boost results by 6 cents per share.

Shares rose to $39.95 in extended trade, after closing down 1.5 percent to $38.49 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)