UPDATE 2-Chile's Falabella posts ninefold profit boost on lower costs

(Adds comment from analyst)

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Chilean retailer Falabella reported a more-than-ninefold leap in net profit in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, citing better margins, lower costs and a slimmed-down inventory.

The retailer's net profit climbed to 70.42 billion pesos ($79.6 million), even as revenue dipped by 5.5% from the year-ago quarter to 3.12 trillion pesos.

Core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, grew 30% to 292.06 billion pesos, helped by an 8% costs dip and inventories 21% lower compared to a year earlier.

This helped Falabella, which has sold off assets in recent quarters after losing an investment-grade rating on its high debt, close the quarter with a non-bank net debt-to-core earnings ratio of 6.5 times, down from 8.6 times in June.

Despite the improvements, Falabella saw sales fall in its main segments, such as department stores, home improvement stores and banking in Chile, while its sales from retail stores in Peru also shrank.

"Falabella reported dim but recovering fourth-quarter results," said analysts at J.P. Morgan, predicting a positive share reaction on Wednesday given the improving profitability.

($1 = 884.59 Chilean pesos at end-December) (Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sarah Morland and Gerry Doyle)