* Sees 2010 EPS $3.30 to $3.50
* Shares up 6 pct in pre-market trade
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Life Technologies Corp posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a double-digit revenue growth in Europe and Asia Pacific, sending its shares up 6 percent in pre-market trade.
The maker of tools and equipment used in genetic testing and stem cell research earned 80 cents a share in the fourth quarter, excluding certain items, the company said.
This topped analysts' average estimate of 72 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Life Technologies reported a net income of $48.9 million, compared with a loss of $113.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
Non-GAAP revenue rose more than 60 percent to $874.1 mln.
The company said it expects earnings of $3.30 to $3.50 a share in 2010 and organic revenue to increase in the mid-to-high single digits.
Shares of the Carlsbad, California-based company rose 6 percent to $51.46 in pre-market trade on Thursday. They closed at $48.69 Wednesday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Suzannah Benjamin in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair) Keywords: LIFETECHNOLOGIES/ (suzannah.benjamin@reuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800 Reuters Messaging: suzannah.benjamin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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