UPDATE 2-Sterling Construction Q1 profit rises 78 pct

* Q1 EPS $0.41 vs $0.23 yr ago

* Q1 revenue $94.9 mln

* Says likely to cut jobs in Texas (Adds con call details, analyst comments, stock movement)

By Mary Meyase

BANGALORE, May 11 (Reuters) - Heavy civil construction company Sterling Construction Co Inc (STRL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 78 percent jump in earnings, helped by revenue growth and improved margins.

However, the company said first quarter's gross margin may not be indicative of the margins achievable in subsequent quarters of 2009. Gross margin for the quarter rose to 12.5 percent from 9.5 percent last year.

The company's shares, which went up 25 cents in early trade, pared all of their gains to trade down 45 cents, or about 2 percent, at $18.00 Monday afternoon on Nasdaq.

"Their backlog was down from the end of December, so that's probably being viewed as a negative for now," John Kasprzak of BB&T Capital Markets said.

Backlog during the quarter was about $385 million, compared with $448 million at 2008 year-end.