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PARIS (Reuters) - French public works and transport concessions group Vinci (SGEF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) posted first-quarter sales up 17.2 percent to 7.2 billion euros ($11.1 billion) on Tuesday, beating expectations on the back of strong construction revenue.

The average forecast of analysts held by Reuters Estimates was 7.07 billion euros.

Revenue grew 7.5 percent on a comparable basis.

First-quarter construction revenue rose 26 percent to 3.5 billion euros, an 8.4 percent rise on a like-for-like basis.

Vinci reported an order book of 22.5 billion euros, up 4.6 percent since the end of last year and representing 10 months of activity in construction, roads and energy.

"Given the high level of its order book and the quality of its concessions portfolio, the group has good visibility for its 2008 outlook and maintains its target for an overall rise of about 10 percent in revenues for the period," Vinci said.

It said the pace of orders in the first quarter remained "well supported overall," despite fears over the economy.

(Reporting by Benjam Mallet and Tim Hepher; Editing by David Holmes)