KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Reuters) - Malaysia's industrial production rose 3 percent in February from a year earlier, supported by growth in the manufacturing and electricity generation sectors, government data showed on Wednesday. February's output growth was slightly below the 3.4 percent annual rise forecast in a Reuters poll. In January, annual growth was recorded as 3 percent but it has since been revised to a 5.4 percent year-on-year rise, after the base year used to calculate the index was changed from 2010 to 2015, the Statistics Department said in a statement. The index measures factory output from the manufacturing, electricity generation and mining sectors. Manufacturing output grew 4.7 percent from a year earlier in February, while the electricity index was up 2.8 percent, according to data from the Statistics Department. Mining output, however, declined 1.6 percent, the data showed. On a monthly basis, factory output fell 10. 3 percent. Malaysia's exports had fallen for the first time in 18 months in February, hit by the effects of shorter working days during the Lunar New Year break. A private manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed Malaysian factory activity contracted to a five-month low in March, as production and new orders fell. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX (base 2015) (in points; base year 2015=100) Feb 2018 Jan 2018 102 113.8* Pct change yr/yr 3.0 5.4* mth/mth -10.3 1.5* SECTOR BREAKDOWN (in pct, unless otherwise stated) Feb 2018 Jan 2018 yr/yr yr/yr (pct) (pct) Manufacturing 4.7 6.9* Electricity 2.8 4.3 Mining -1.6 1.5 *indicates revised figures (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Sunil Nair)