UPDATE 1-MDC Holdings posts Q4 profit on tax benefit

* Q4 shr $2.68 vs. yr-ago loss $1.92

* Net orders up 82 pct

* Backlog up 55 pct

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Homebuilder MDC Holdings Inc (MDC.N) posted a profit in the fourth quarter, helped by an income tax benefit.

The company posted fourth-quarter net income of $127.2 million, or $2.68 a share, compared with a net loss of $89.0 million, or $1.92 a share, a year earlier.

The quarter included a benefit of $142.6 million from income taxes.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $323.9 million.

Analysts on average were expecting a loss of 39 cents a share, on revenue of $269.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company said net orders rose 82 percent to 637 homes in the quarter, with backlog increasing 55 percent to 826 homes at Dec. 31.

MDC Holdings said it expects to receive a $143 million tax refund before the end of the first quarter.

Shares of the company closed at $34.61 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Amulya Nagaraj in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)