UPDATE 1-McDermott profit up on offshore oil and gas strength

* Q3 EPS 50 cents vs 40 cents expected by Wall St

* Revenue marginally higher at $1.68 bln

* End Q3 backlog $8.5 bln vs $9.5 bln at end Q2

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - McDermott International Inc (MDR.N) reported on Monday a rise in quarterly profit as the U.S. engineering company picked up more work on projects in offshore oil and gas to offset weakness in its power generation business.

Third-quarter net profit rose to $118.1 million, or 50 cents per share, from $85.6 million, or 37 cents per share, in the same quarter a year before. Revenue rose marginally to $1.676 billion from from $1.665 billion.

Analysts had expected a profit of 40 cents per share on revenue of $1.54 billion, according to the averages on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Backlog fell to $8.5 billion from $9.5 billion three months before. The Houston-based company said while its bookings were light, as expected, bidding activity remained at a high level. (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)