NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crown Holdings Inc (CCK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), one of the world's largest producers of beverage caps, said on Wednesday its first-quarter profit rose, helped by increased sales and the pass-through of higher raw material costs.

Net income rose to $27 million, or 17 cents per share, from $18 million, or 11 cents a share a year ago, the Philadelphia-based company said. Sales rose 8.8 percent to $1.86 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting profit of 14 cents per share and revenue of $1.84 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Crown said the increase in sales was primarily due to $119 million from foreign currency translation and also included the pass-through of higher raw material costs in the form of higher selling prices. Approximately 74 percent of net sales were generated outside the United States, it said.

Lower manufacturing costs, efficiency improvements and $15 million from foreign currency translation primarily drove the improvement in profit, Crown said.

"The first quarter results reflect global growth in beverage can volumes with particular benefit from a full quarter of operations by our new beverage can line in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, our new beverage can plant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and increased capacity utilization in the Middle East," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Conway.

He said Crown also benefited from Americas beverage can volume recovery and its improved mix, as well as continued improvement in European beverage can margins.

"While the first quarter is traditionally a seasonally smaller sales period, plant productivity and efficiency was high and we believe we are on track for a strong year," Conway said.

Earlier this year, Crown Holdings announced that its board has authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of its common stock through the end of 2010.