UPDATE 3-Lubrizol Q4 profit tops view; 2010 forecast strong

* Q4 adj EPS $1.95; Street view $1.77

* Revenue up 9.3 percent

* Sees 2010 profit above average Street forecast

* Resuming share repurchase program

* Shares rise 1.4 pct in morning trading (Recasts; adds conference call, share repurchases, tax rate, unit specifics; updates share move)

By Ernest Scheyder

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Lubrizol Corp LZ.N posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday as sales of its specialty chemicals surged in Asia, and it forecast 2010 earnings above Wall Street forecasts.

Lubrizol also said it was resuming its share repurchase program, with about 3.8 million shares available under its current allotment. Its shares rose $1.06, or 1.4 percent, to 75.34 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

"While we are not expecting sharp recoveries in 2010 for some of our end-use markets such as construction, we project a volume increase this year due to emerging market growth, continued inventory replenishment and the recovery of some deferred demand," Chief Executive James Hambrick said in a statement.

The Wickliffe, Ohio-based company forecast earnings for 2010, excluding restructuring charges, of $7.70 to $8.30 per share. Analysts' average forecast is $7.31, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted net income of $134.2, or $1.92 per share, compared with a loss of $281 million, or $4.16 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, profit was $1.95 per share. On that basis, analysts expected $1.77.

Revenue rose 9.3 percent to $1.19 billion. Both revenue and operating income increased at its two main units -- additives and advanced materials -- with growth in Asia primarily fueling the jump.

For 2010, Lubrizol expects volumes to rise 5 percent to 6 percent, with gross margins of about 32 percent.

The company expects its tax rate to rise to 32 percent in 2010 from 29.2 percent in 2009, partly due to the loss of a U.S. research tax credit. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace)