May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Foster Wheeler Ltd. rose the most in more than two years after the company posted first- quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates on demand from energy companies for engineering and construction services.

Net income surged almost eightfold to $114.8 million, or $1.60 a share, from $14.6 million, or a loss of 8 cents, a year earlier, Clinton, New Jersey-based Foster Wheeler said today in a statement. Sales rose 78 percent to $1.15 billion. The average of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for profit of 64 cents a share.

Chief Executive Officer Raymond Milchovich hired hundreds of workers in the quarter to respond to increasing demand from oil companies. Foster Wheeler has grown from less than 8,000 employees in 2003 to almost 13,000 as of March 30. Milchovich plans to add more to help the company meet burgeoning demand.

``A big part of the jump today is the market is finally recognizing the sustainability of the operating momentum that Foster Wheeler has been displaying for the past three quarters,'' Nick Capuano, an Imperial Capital LLC analyst in Los Angeles, said in a phone interview today. He rates the shares a ``buy'' and doesn't own any.

Foster Wheeler's shares surged $14.60, or 20 percent, to $87.75 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, after earlier touching $88.56. That's the biggest increase since Nov. 9, 2004. The stock has gained 59 percent this year.

The company said it had a per-share loss a year earlier because it allocated 29 cents of profit to shares of certain warrant holders.

The company's global engineering and construction unit boosted manpower by 9 percent in the quarter. That division has bolstered its workforce by 60 percent since the end of 2005, Foster Wheeler said. Its global power group increased the number of workers by 3 percent in the quarter.

To contact the reporters on this story: Will Daley in Chicago at wdaley2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 9, 2007 16:34 EDT