UPDATE 1-Evergreen Solar's quarterly loss widens

* 4Q loss per share 48 cents vs 33 cents year-ago

* 4Q revenue $74.5 mln vs consensus $74 mln

* Shares up 5 percent in after hours trading

LOS ANGELES, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. solar company Evergreen Solar Inc ESLR.O reported on Monday a 69-percent leap in quarterly revenue and sharply improved its profit margins, sending its shares up 5 percent.

The company's margins grew to 11.9 percent in the fourth quarter from 7.1 percent in the third quarter as it worked to cut manufacturing costs and sell solar parts at more competitive prices.

Fourth-quarter revenue grew to $74.5 million, compared with an average estimate of $74 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Still, the company's quarterly loss widened as the company took a large writedown for its European manufacturing joint venture.

Its fourth-quarter net loss was $98.1 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $53.8 million, or 33 cents per share a year ago.

The latest loss included $56.3 million in charges associated with its stake in Sovello AG, in which Evergreen, Germany's Q-Cells (QCEG.DE) and Norway's Renewable Energy Corp (REC.OL) each own a third.

Like other solar companies, Evergreen has been hit by a lack of financing for new projects and a glut of panels. Investors fear that proposed subsidy cuts in Germany, the world's largest solar market, could cast a pall over the solar power market in 2010.

The shares of the Marlboro, Massachusetts-based company were up 5 percent, or 7 cents, at $1.42 in extended trading on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Laura Isensee; editing by Marguerita Choy and Andre Grenon)