UPDATE 2-Oceaneering Q4 profit up, but Q1 forecast misses view

(Recasts, adds details, after-hours trade)

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Oilfield services company Oceaneering International Inc. (OII.N) on Wednesday reported higher quarterly profits on continued demand within its offshore oilfield service and product markets.

The Houston-based company, however, forecast first-quarter earnings way below analysts' expectations, while backing its full-year outlook. The stock fell 10 percent in late electronic trade after closing up 1.62 percent at $42.68 on the New York Stock Exchange.

For the fourth quarter, Oceaneering reported net income of $29.8 million, or 54 cents per share, including a charge of 3 cents a share, compared with $19.7 million, or 36 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts on average expected a profit of 56 cents a share, excluding one-time items, according to Reuters Estimates.

The results benefited from improved utilization of remotely operated vehicles and expanded fleet. Increased demand for deepwater subsea products pushed up the segment's revenue by almost 15 percent.

Quarterly revenue rose 18 percent to $342.4 million.

The investments in subsea products business, continued pricing improvement for ROVs, and the fleet expansion would help 2007, the company said.

The company forecast first-quarter earnings per share of 48 cents to 54 cents, below analysts' average forecast of 63 cents a share. It backed its 2007 earnings outlook of $2.60 a share to $2.90 a share. (Reporting by Deepti Chaudhary and Gurdeep Singh in Bangalore)