UPDATE 3-Thermo Fisher outlook pleases, shares jump

* Q4 adjusted EPS $0.91 vs Street view $0.88

* Revenue up 7 pct to $2.84 billion

* Sees '10 EPS $3.30 to $3.45, revs $10.6 bln to $10.8 bln

* Shrs up 2.5 pct after climbing 4.4 pct (Recasts, adds analyst comments, share price)

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Scientific instruments maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO.N) forecast 2010 earnings in line with Wall Street estimates and revenue that is likely to exceed analysts' expectations, sending its shares more than 4 percent higher to a level not seen since October 2008.

The company also reported a lower, but better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as record revenue was offset by higher expenses.

Thermo said on Wednesday that it expects full-year earnings of $3.30 to $3.45 per share excluding items, or growth of 8 percent to 13 percent. It forecast 2010 revenue of $10.6 billion to $10.8 billion, representing growth of 5 percent to 7 percent.

Analysts on average are expecting earnings of $3.38 per share, excluding items, and sales of $10.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"This looks like a solid place to start 2010 with room for upside as the initial range likely reflects conservatism for a new CEO and a cautious view on instrument spending," Morgan Stanley analyst Marshall Urist said in a research note.

Marc Casper, Thermo's new chief executive, said the company was seeing "gradual recovery" in its key end markets.

Thermo's results over the past few quarters had been hampered by constraints on capital spending by customers hurt by the recession.

Barclays Capital analyst Tony Butler said the stock rise was "definitely" being driven by a 2010 forecast that translates into better-than-expected organic growth.

"We may have seen the worst," said Butler, noting that the fourth quarter was clearly an improvement over the previous three.

The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company posted a fourth-quarter net profit of $273.3 million, or 65 cents per share, down from $287 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, earnings were 91 cents per share, exceeding analysts' average expectations by 3 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $2.84 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates of $2.74 billion. Thermo said 6 percent of that increase came from acquisitions and favorable currency rates.

The analytical technologies business saw revenue rise 5 percent to $1.19 billion, while laboratory products and services sales climbed 9 percent to $1.77 billion.

Thermo Fisher shares were up $1.21, or 2.5 percent, to $48.81 in late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange after climbing as high as $49.69 earlier in the day. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman)