UPDATE 1-Hedging helps Romania's Petrom beat forecasts

* Q3 net profit down 2 pct at 615 mln lei

* Beats expectations, oil price hedging helps

* Says will stay within 4.7 bln lei 2009 capex plan

* Sees weaker leu EURRON= in Q4, slower GDP contraction

(Adds further details)

BUCHAREST, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Petrom SNPP.BX, Romania's biggest oil and gas group, posted a small drop in its third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, easily beating market expectations with the help of oil price hedging gains.

The company, majority owned by Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI), said its net profit fell 2 percent to 615 million lei ($214 million), which compared with an average forecast in a Reuters poll of 315 million lei.

"Net profit was supported by the positive hedging result," it said in a statement sent to the Bucharest bourse.

Hedging generated a financial gain of 126 million lei.