HOUSTON (Bloomberg) ? Shares of Cooper Industries Ltd., maker of Crescent wrenches and Halo lighting, rose 5.5 percent after the company reported higher-than-expected first-quarter profit and raised its forecast for the year.

US construction spending rose 0.8 percent in February as companies spent more on hospitals and power plants, the Commerce Department said April 3.

Rising construction drives more-profitable sales of Bermuda-registered Cooper?s tools, lamps and transformers, Arlington, Virginia-based Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Alex Rygiel said in a note to clients.

Results ?were well ahead of our expectations?, said Rygiel, who raised his rating on the stock to ?outperform? from ?market perform? after Cooper?s results were released on Thursday. The company also is boosting profit by lowering expenses, he said.

First-quarter net income rose 23 percent to $107.7 million, or $1.14 a share, from $87.8 million, or 92 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement today. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting Cooper to post $1.06 a share. Sales rose eight percent to $1.24 billion.

For the year, profit will be between $4.85 a share and $4.90 a share, a 15 percent to 19 percent increase over 2005 and 15 cents more than Cooper?s previous forecast range.