UPDATE 2-Ingersoll profit rises 60 percent, beats forecasts

* Q2 EPS ex-items $0.76 vs Wall St view $0.72

* Q2 rev up 7 pct to $3.7 bln

* Sees 2010 EPS ex-items $2.18 to $2.38

* CEO sees 'continuing improvement' in markets (Adds outlook, detail on margins, CEO quote)

NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - Ingersoll-Rand Plc (IR.N), a maker of cooling systems for homes, businesses and transportation, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday and said order trends suggested a stronger 2010 than previously thought.

Net earnings jumped 60 percent to $196.4 million, or 58 cents per share, from $122.1 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a loss from discontinued operations, Ingersoll earned 76 cents per share. On that basis, analysts expected 72 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 7 percent to $3.7 billion, also topping Wall Street forecasts.

Profit margins improved to 9.7 percent from 7.7 percent in the climate solutions unit, which accounts for more than half of the company's total sales.

Ingersoll, which also makes security technology and industrial compressors, said orders were up 10 percent in the quarter, led by upswings in industrial, transport refrigeration, golf carts and by Asian demand for commercial cooling systems.

"We are seeing continuing improvement in several of our key markets," said Michael Lamach, who took over from Herb Henkel this year as chief executive officer and, last month, as chairman.

Ingersoll said it expected full-year earnings of $2.18 to $2.38 per share from continuing operations, excluding one-time healthcare costs. The analysts' average forecast is $2.28.

The company estimated 2010 revenue at $13.7 billion to $13.9 billion. The midpoint of that range is slightly ahead of Wall Street. (Reporting by Nick Zieminski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)