UPDATE 2-SNC Lavalin profit rises 13 pct, but revenue sags

* Q3 EPS C$0.68 vs C$0.60 a year earlier

* Revenue drops 15.6 percent to C$1.42 bln

* Reaffirms 2009 profit growth forecast of 7 pct to 12 pct

* Says backlog solid and 2010 prospects promising (Adds details, share price, CEO comments)

TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - SNC-Lavalin Group Inc (SNC.TO) reported a 13 percent rise in quarterly profit on Friday, mainly due to higher profit margins on large-scale construction and engineering projects.

Canada's biggest engineering and construction company said net earnings rose to C$103.1 million ($96.4 million), or 68 Canadian cents a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, from C$91.3 million, or 60 Canadian cents a share, in the year-before quarter.

Revenue declined 15.6 percent to C$1.42 billion.

Analysts on average had expected the Montreal-based company to report earnings of 57 Canadian cents a share on revenue of C$1.61 billion, according to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"We achieved good results in the third quarter, our net income is up and our cash position has increased," Pierre Duhaime, SNC's president and chief executive, said in a statement.

"Our backlog remains solid and our list of prospects both national and international is promising, which bodes well for 2010."

The company reaffirmed its 2009 forecast for profit growth of 7 percent to 12 percent.

SNC's backlog at the end of June was C$10.2 billion, up from C$9.9 billion at the end of September 2008.

SNC had C$1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, up from C$988.2 million at Dec. 31, 2008.

Shares in the company were up 71 Canadian cents, or 1.6 percent, at C$46.00 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday morning. ($1=$1.07 Canadian) (Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Peter Galloway)