* Company receives $100 mln of equity investments

* Q3 EPS 8 cents/shr vs Wall St est 12 cents per share

* Net revenue falls 22 pct

* Leisure business driving travel market recovery-CEO

* Shares rise 5 pct (Recasts; adds new CEO quotes from interview, background. Updates shares)

By Kyle Peterson

CHICAGO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide (OWW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by lower expenses and more bookings, and said it had received equity investments amounting to $100 million.

The results fell short of Wall Street's expectations and shares dropped more than 9 percent in early trading before rebounding into positive territory.

Orbitz Chief Executive Barney Harford said fee cuts and promotions offset weak demand during the economic recession but that travel demand is starting to recover on its own.