UPDATE 2-Arch Chemicals posts Q4 profit; shares up 3.7 pct

* Q4 EPS 11 cents; Street view loss 4 cents

* Sales rise 8.5 percent

* Forecasts Q1 profit below Street view

* Forecasts 2010 profit to range mostly above Street

* Shares jump 3.7 percent (Recasts; Adds more earns info, byline; updates stock price)

By Ernest Scheyder

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Arch Chemicals Inc ARJ.N reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday and forecast its 2010 profit to a range mostly above expectations, helping boost its shares nearly 4 percent.

Arch makes biocide chemicals that go into a wide range of consumer products, including anti-dandruff shampoo, wood sealants and pool water cleaners.

Volumes in its core business rose 7 percent during the period, a small sign that consumers may now be spending more on discretionary items that use Arch's products.

"Our relentless commitment to increase profit margins, maximize cash generation, improve operational excellence and optimize our portfolio to focus on our core biocides businesses will help deliver long-term shareholder value, including maintaining an attractive dividend," Chief Executive Michael Campbell said in a statement.

For the period, the company posted net income of $2.7 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with a loss of $18.9 million, or 75 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Analysts had expected a loss of 4 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 8.5 percent to $333.5 million. Analysts had expected $313.9 million.

For the first quarter, the company expects earnings of break-even to 10 cents per share, and analysts have forecast 11 cents per share.

For all of 2010, Norwalk, Connecticut-based Arch expects earnings per share of $1.90 to $2.10. Analysts anticipate earnings of $1.93 per share for the year.

Shares rose $1.04, or 3.7 percent, to $29.06 in late morning trading. The stock has ranged between $15 and $32.41 in the past 52 weeks. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Maureen Bavdek)