UPDATE 1-McDermott 4th-qtr profit down sharply, shares fall

* Q4 EPS 19 cents vs forecast 17 cents

* Shares off 3.7 pct after 14 pct drop in regular trade

SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 (Reuters) - Engineering and construction company McDermott International Inc (MDR.N) posted a drop in quarterly earnings on Monday despite 9 percent revenue growth, and its shares fell 3.6 percent.

Chief Executive John Fees said the business environment remained "in flux," though he was encouraged by the company's year-end backlog of $9.8 billion, the same as a year before.

Fourth-quarter profit fell to $43 million, or 19 cents per share, from $160 million, or 70 cents per share, a year before. That included $57 million of previously announced net expenses. Quarterly revenue was $1.66 billion, up from $1.53 billion.

Analysts had been expecting earnings of 17 cents per share, according to the average on Reuters Estimates. The Houston-based company had said last month it expected fourth-quarter earnings of 16 to 19 cents per share.

Shares of McDermott, up 2 percent so far in 2009 even after a 14.2 percent drop on Monday to $10.12, fell to $9.75 in after-hours trading. (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)