Bermuda-based Cooper Industries Ltd., the maker of Crescent wrenches and Halo lamps, said yesterday third-quarter profit rose 12 percent as it sold more tools overseas.

Net income rose to $70.6 million, or 75 cents a share, from $63.2 million, or 68 cents, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 4.9 percent to $1.05 billion from $999.3 million, the company said in a statement.

Cooper is based in Bermuda, but has its head office in Houston.

Sales of industrial and commercial electrical products, Cooper's largest business, rose 2 percent, helped by sales of lighting for homes and currency gains. Sales of tools and hardware rose 21 percent, helped by shipments overseas. Demand from North American automakers and aerospace companies remained weak, the company said.

The company was expected to have a third-quarter profit of 74 cents, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Cooper said it expects fourth-quarter earnings excluding some costs to rise to 75 cents to 77 cents a share, from 62 cents a year earlier. Analysts were expecting 76 cents.