* 2010 outlook better than forecasts

* Shares rise over 6 pct in after-hours trade

HOUSTON, June 2 (Reuters) - FirstEnergy Corp (FE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) gave a strong profit outlook for the next few years in a trading update on Tuesday, sending shares of the utility up over 6 percent in after-hours trading.

The company said it expected to post 2009 earnings before one-time items of $3.70 to $3.85 per share, in line with the average forecast by analysts for $3.83, according to Reuters Estimates.

But FirstEnergy also said it was working to produce a similar result in 2010, whereas analysts had been expecting earnings of just $3.55 per share next year.

FirstEnergy, based in Akron, Ohio, owns and operates nearly 14,000 megawatts of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity to about 4.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The company added in the statement that it expected several positive drivers, particularly in Pennsylvania and its home state, to provide a boost to earnings in 2011.

Shares of FirstEnergy, which tumbled nearly 10 percent in mid-May as a disappointing power auction prompted a round of analyst downgrades, jumped 6.3 percent to $41 in after-hours trade on Tuesday. The stock had closed 1.9 percent lower at $38.58 in regular trading. (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)