(Adds details about Ghana discovery, byline, share price)

By Anna Driver

HOUSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), an independent exploration and production company, said on Monday first-quarter profit fell sharply from a year ago, when it had a big gain from asset sales, but results easily topped expectations.

Anadarko's stock rose 7.2 percent in after-hours trading.

"They reaffirmed their production forecast and their first quarter results beat across the board," Joe Magner, an analyst with Tristone Capital, said, citing better-than-expected cash flow and earnings.

First-quarter 2008 net income available to common stockholders was $286 million, or 61 cents per diluted share, compared with $1.72 billion, or $3.70 per diluted share, a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, the most recent quarter's operating income was $1.44 per share, well above the Wall Street estimate of $1.21 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The Houston company also said it was still backing its 2008 production outlook for 207 million to 212 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). That forecast takes into account four to six weeks of shut-in production at the company's Independence Hub natural gas production platform, it said.

Anadarko also reported good results from two wells offshore Ghana. With additional testing, Anadarko said it will likely update its estimate of recoverable resources from the area.