UPDATE 2-Unit Corp Q1 profit beats Street; shares at life high

(Recasts; adds details, background, analyst comments; updates share movement)

By Shradhha Sharma

BANGALORE, May 6 (Reuters) - Oil and gas company Unit Corp (UNT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, helped by higher production, commodity prices, and an increase in the number of rigs operated, sending its shares up 6 percent to their lifetime high.

The company, whose rivals include Parker Drilling Co (PKD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Grey Wolf Inc (GW.A: Quote, Profile, Research), conducts onshore drilling of oil and natural gas wells for customers in the Mid-Continent region, including the Rocky Mountains and Gulf Coast basins in the United States.

Unit Corp and its rivals have reaped the benefits of soaring oil prices, which have increased nearly six-fold since 2002 on surging demand from emerging economies, supply concerns and the weak dollar.

Oil prices were at or near record levels for most of the first quarter and set a new record high of more than $122 a barrel earlier on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Unit Corp's stock has shone bright, jumping 49 percent this year. Rival Parker Drilling's shares have risen about 10 percent, while Grey Wolf has seen its market value go up by more than a third in 2008.

On Tuesday, Unit Corp reported first-quarter net income of $77.1 million, or $1.65 a share, compared with $64.5 million, or $1.39 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 16 percent to $321.4 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.63 a share, excluding special items, on revenue of $312.32 million, according to Reuters Estimates.