UPDATE 1-Building engineer URS posts higher 1st qtr profit

(Adds revenue, estimates, CEO comments, outlook)

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Engineering and construction company URS Corp (URS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its first-quarter profit rose more than 60 percent on strength in the industrial, commercial and federal sectors as well as the company's expansion into oil and gas markets.

Net earnings rose to $49.4 million, or 60 cents per share, from $30.4 million, or 58 cents per share, in the same quarter last year, the San Francisco-based company said.

Excluding special items, earnings were 69 cents per share.

Revenue doubled to $2.26 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 50 cents per share and revenue of $2.33 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

There were 82.5 million shares outstanding in the latest quarter, up from 52.1 million in the 2007 first quarter.

The results included the first full quarter of operations for the businesses obtained through the acquisition of Washington Group International Inc.

"Our strong performance reflects positive trends across our federal and industrial and commercial sectors and the expansion of our positions in the high-growth power and oil and gas markets through the Washington Group acquisition," Chairman and CEO Martin Koffel said.

The infrastructure sector remained stable during the quarter as states and municipal agencies continued to move forward on critical transportation, water and wastewater and facilities projects, Koffel said.