UPDATE 2-Layne Christensen Q4 tops Wall Street; shares jump

(Recasts; adds analyst comments; updates share movement)

By Chakradhar Adusumilli

BANGALORE, April 8 (Reuters) - Construction and drilling services company Layne Christensen Co (LAYN.O) reported a 44 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit, beating market estimates, as mineral exploration sales surged on the back of high metal prices, boosting its shares 24 percent.

The Mission Woods, Kansas-based company earned $9.6 million, or 50 cents a share in the latest quarter, compared with $6.7 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 16 percent to $223.6 million.

Analysts expected a profit 38 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $211.9 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

"With a 50 cents earnings number it's not surprising to see the stock trade up with that magnitude of earnings," analyst Ryan Connors of Boenning & Scattergood Inc said.

Mineral exploration revenue rose 28 percent to $47.6 million on continued strength in global exploration activity due to high gold and base metal prices.

"This time around, results were very strong and the mineral exploration business was the segment that really drove that," Connors said. Growth in the mineral exploration was above expectations, he added.

Revenue from the water infrastructure segment, the company's biggest business, rose about 14 percent to $164.0 million. The energy division's revenue increased 16 percent to $10.7 million.

Layne Christensen's water infrastructure segment provides drilling and construction services primarily for the treatment of water and wastewater.

Shares of the company, which have lost more than 26 percent of their value in 2008, were up $7.66 at $43.73 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq. Earlier, they had touched a high of $44.62. (Additional reporting by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)