By Philip Blenkinsop

Belgium's InBev, the brewer of Stella Artois and Beck's, said it was on course to close the purchase by the end of the year in the face of market turmoil that forced the postponement of a $9.8 billion rights issue last month.

Chief Financial Officer Felipe Dutra told a conference call the deal to buy the maker of Budweiser, agreed in July before the financial crisis deepened, was simply awaiting approval by Anheuser shareholders on November 12 and by regulators.

"I'm not anticipating and I do not believe in a change in terms of capital structure and I firmly believe the deal will be closed based on the agreed-upon conditions, including the capital structure," he said.

"The rights issue will be executed as part of the capital structure of the transaction," he said, adding the delay was the result of volatility rather than price or demand.

Beer sector consolidation hotted up further on Thursday as Molson Coors Brewing Co emerged as the holder of a 5 percent stake in Australia's Foster's Group .

InBev said EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) rose 6.5 percent on a like-for-like basis to 1.39 billion euros ($1.79 billion) in the July-September period, from 1.33 billion a year earlier.

A Reuters poll of eight analysts had produced a consensus of 1.37 billion.

The core profit margin edged up to 35.3 percent from 35.2 percent a year earlier, though InBev had previously forecast margin contraction.

InBev shares were trading up 4.3 percent at 30.415 euros at 0820 GMT, making them the strongest in the FTSE Eurotop 300<.PGL.FTEU3>.

LOWER GROWTH, INFLATION IN 2009

InBev, set to take back the spot as number-one brewer from SABMiller Plc when it buys Anheuser, said cost of sales per hectoliter accelerated to 9.9 percent in the third quarter, but should decelerate significantly in the final quarter.

For the full year, the figure should be "moderately" above the upper end of its previous expectation of 5 to 6 percent.

"In 2009 cost of sales could favor us, partly offsetting lower volume growth," Dutra said, adding he saw volume expansion similar to the 2008 level of 2 to 3 percent, down on 2007's increase of 5.2 percent.

Revenue increased by a like-for-like 7.7 percent to 3.95 billion euros, against analyst expectations of 3.92 billion euros, and normalized net profit rose 3.8 percent to 542 million euros. Analysts had on average forecast 537 million euros.

Anheuser, which also reports third-quarter figures on Thursday, last month said that U.S. quarterly beer volumes rose by 2.3 percent and sales from wholesalers to retailers by 3.6 percent, in what one analyst said were the strongest sales results since 2000.

The company forecast third-quarter income would rise at a low double-digit rate, helped by price increases and the launch of Bud Light Lime.

On Wednesday, Danish brewer Carlsberg posted a 53 percent rise in third-quarter operating profit, slightly below consensus, and trimmed its full-year earnings outlook due to weaker consumer sentiment.

In October, InBev reported that revenue grew at a high single-digit rate in the third quarter. It said volumes grew in North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific, but declined in eastern and western Europe.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Elaine Hardcastle and John Stonestreet)