UPDATE 3-Cigna 3rd-qtr profit rises, beats forecasts

* Cigna earnings excluding one-time items top forecasts

* Profit excluding items $1.13/shr versus $1.03 estimate

* Revenue down 8 percent to $4.5 billion

* Shares up 1.2 percent (Updates with outlook, company comment, share price)

By Toni Clarke

BOSTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Health insurer Cigna Corp (CI.N) posted third-quarter earnings on Thursday that topped expectations, as cost-cuts offset the impact of declining membership.

Net earnings rose to $329 million, or $1.19 per share, from $171 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings of $1.13 per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.03 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $4.5 billion, hurt by intense competition for customers and job losses that knocked members off its rolls.