UPDATE 1-Resources Connection posts Q2 profit

* Q2 EPS $0.38 vs year-ago loss $0.04/shr

* Revenue jumps 14 pct

* Shares rise 7 pct after market

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Professional services firm Resources Connection Inc (RECN.O) swung to a second-quarter profit on higher U.S. sales and better margins, sending its shares up 7 percent in extended trade.

For the second quarter ended Nov. 27, the company's net income was $17.5 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $1.9 million, or 4 cents a share, a year ago.

The latest results include a gain of 30 cents a share related to its 2009 acquisition of consultancy firm Sitrick Brincko Group and 1 cent a share charge related to new tax valuation allowances.

Revenue for the quarter rose 14 percent to $138.5 million, with U.S. revenue jumping 16 percent. Gross margins rose to 39.5 percent from 38.1 percent a year ago.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 7 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $133.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the Irvine, California-based company rose to $20.22 in after-market trade. They closed at $18.95 on Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)