IBM profit beats Wall Street projections

BOSTON (Reuters) -International Business Machines Corp , the world's biggest technology services company, issued quarterly results that were ahead of Wall Street estimates even as the global recession deepened, sending its shares up 3.5 percent.

The world's biggest manufacturer of mainframe computers and No. 2 software maker said on Tuesday that net income rose 12 percent to $4.43 billion, or $3.28 per share, in the fourth quarter ended December 31, from $3.95 billion, or $2.80 per share, a year earlier. That easily beat the average analyst forecast of $3.03.

Revenue fell 6.4 percent to $27.0 billion.

The Armonk, New York company also said it expects to report 2009 earnings of at least $9.20 per share.

IBM shares rose $2.85 to $84.83 in extended trading. They had closed down 3.5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; editing by Richard Chang)