Assa Abloy says China unit executives inflated 2015 sales

* Says Chinese subsidiaries invoiced too early

* China turnover shrinks 12 percent

* Q3 EBIT 3.02 bln SEK vs consensus 3.05 bln

* Shares fall as much as 8.6 percent (Adds company comment on China)

STOCKHOLM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Sweden's Assa Abloy , the world's biggest lockmaker, said on Friday it had fired several executives at acquired companies in China after discovering they had inflated sales figures for 2015.

Assa Abloy corrected the irregularities in its third-quarter report published on Friday, taking a 260 million crown ($29 million) hit to operating profit and sending its shares down as much as 8.6 percent in its biggest one-day fall in eight months.

"2015 was a tough year and I was standing here saying we did better than the market and unfortunately I was wrong," Chief Executive Johan Molin told a news conference.

"Our people added turnover that should not be there, they started to invoice earlier than they should."

Assa Abloy reported sales of 5 billion crowns in China last year. Molin said the fraud had taken place at companies producing fire doors in China.

"All people that were involved, which was quite a number, were laid off in the quarter. So we are looking for new management in a number of locations," Molin said.

Assa reported a slightly smaller increase than expected in group profit for the third quarter as sales fell in China on a sluggish market. Shares in Assa, which had been nearly unchanged year-to-date, were down 6.2 percent at 1018 GMT.

Operating profit at Assa, which has been outgrowing rivals helped by acquisitions and a shift towards digital access systems, rose to 3.02 billion crowns from 2.97 billion a year ago against a mean forecast of 3.05 billion in a Reuters poll of analysts.

While the profit miss was not substantial, analysts said the company had a strong track record of delivering on expectations.

Organic growth slowed to 2 percent from 4 percent in the previous quarter, and from 3 percent a year ago, as a sales decline in the Asia-Pacific division accelerated amid a slump in demand in China where turnover shrank 12 percent.

"The third quarter of the year showed satisfactory growth for Assa Abloy generally, with the exception of Asia Pacific," Chief Executive Johan Molin said.

The division still accounts for less than a fifth of group turnover, but Assa's strategy is to expand in emerging markets.

Assa also said it would close around 50 offices and factories over the coming three years at an estimated cost of around 1.5 billion crowns. It gave no further details on the plan, which adds to restructuring already underway.

Assa's competitors include unlisted Swiss firm Dorma-Kaba and Allegion of the United States.

($1 = 8.8986 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Rebecka Roos; editing by Susan Thomas/Ruth Pitchford)