UPDATE 2-Sprott profit falls 56 pct; CEO still market bear

* Q1 EPS C$0.05 vs C$0.12 last year

* Q1 AUM rises from fourth quarter (Adds details from conference call, analyst quote; changes dateline to TORONTO)

By Jennifer Kwan

TORONTO, May 7 (Reuters) - Canadian fund manager Sprott Inc (SII.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 56 percent fall in quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt in part by lower management fees, but said assets under management rose from the end of 2008.

Shares of the Toronto-based firm rose 2.1 percent to C$4.95 following the results, which came in slightly ahead of expectations.

In the quarter ended March 31, the company earned C$7.4 million ($6.3 million), or 5 Canadian cents a share, compared with C$16.7 million, or 12 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were looking for a profit of 4 Canadian cents a share, excluding items, according to Reuters Estimates.

Management fees for the quarter fell 31 percent from a year ago to C$22.6 million.

Chief Executive Eric Sprott, one of Canada's best known money managers, said the company's funds performed well in he quarter, particularly in January and February, when it was rewarded for its large weighting in precious metals.