UPDATE 1-Safe Bulkers Q1 net almost triples, shares up

* Q1 EPS $1.14 vs yr-ago $0.43 * Net revnue down 5 pct as day rates fall * Stock up 10 pct in trading after the bell

May 21 (Reuters) - Drybulk shipper Safe Bulkers Inc's (SB.N) quarterly profit almost tripled, helped by the compensation it received for early termination of time charter contracts for two of its vessels.

Net income for the first quarter was $62.0 million, or $1.14 a share, up from $23.6 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

The company, which went public last year, said during the first quarter it recorded $29.7 million due to early redelivery of its vessels Maritsa and Efrossini.

Maritsa was redelivered to the company almost two years ahead of the expiry of the contract and the company received a compensation of $29.1 million for it.

Efrossini was redelivered on Jan. 1, 2009, instead of Jan. 13, and the company received compensation of $0.6 million.

Excluding items, the company's earnings for the quarter were 43 cents a share, compared with analysts' average estimate of 64 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net revenue for the quarter fell by 5 percent to $46.9 million, as day rates for the company's ships declined. Analysts had forecast revenue of $51.4 million.

Shares of the company, which have traded in a range of $2.71 to $19.75 in the past 52 weeks, closed at $7.06 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. They were up 10 percent at $7.80 in after hours trading. (Reporting by Hezron Selvi in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)