UPDATE 2-Dover results top estimates; shares gain

* Q4 EPS $0.55 ex-items, vs $0.49 Wall St view

* Q4 sales down 13 pct at $1.51 bln

* Sees 2010 EPS $2.35-$2.65

* Shares up 4.2 pct (Adds sales, detail on outlook; changes dateline from BOSTON)

NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Industrial conglomerate Dover Corp (DOV.N) reported an 18 percent drop in profit that nonetheless beat Wall Street expectations and said several of its markets were staging a modest recovery, sending its shares up more than 4 percent.

The maker of products ranging from pumps and valves to supermarket equipment said on Friday that net income fell to $99 million, or 53 cents per share, from $120.7 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier.

Factoring out one-time items, profit came to 55 cents per share, topping the analysts' average forecast of 49 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales fell 13 percent to $1.51 billion, above forecasts of $1.46 billion.

The company said it saw improved demand from makers of consumer electronics for communications components, while demand from oil and gas drillers was helping its energy segment.

"I am more confident today than two or three months ago," Chief Executive Officer Bob Livingston said on a conference call. "We are now focused on growth."

Dover said it expected to report 2010 profit of $2.35 to $2.65 per share. Analysts on average were expecting $2.38, excluding items.

The company said 2010 sales would be up 7 percent to 9 percent.

Dover shares were up 4.2 percent at $44.29 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Nick Zieminski and Scott Malone, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)