UPDATE 1-Husky Energy profit doubles, helped by lower taxes

(Adds details on higher sales)

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Husky Energy Inc (HSE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Canada's No. 3 oil producer and refiner, said on Monday its fourth quarter profit doubled, helped by sharply higher sales and lower taxes.

The company said it earned $1.1 billion, or $1.26 per share, in the quarter, compared with $542 million, or 64 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Husky said earnings in the quarter were bolstered by a $365 million benefit related to a reduction in its federal tax rate.

Sales and operating revenue, net of royalties, jumped 54 percent to $4.8 billion, although the barrel production volume of oil equivalent slipped slightly compared with the 2006 period.

Prices of crude oil and gasoline have risen sharply in the past year, lifting the profits of many energy companies.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson, Editing by Kim Coghill)