www.Maidenform.com

March 3 (Reuters) - Maidenform Brands Inc's (MFB.N) quarterly profit topped market estimates for the seventh consecutive quarter on the strength of its wholesale business, sending the intimate apparel maker's shares up 9 percent before the bell.

Chief Executive Maurice Reznik said he expects the company's strong performance to continue in 2010 as the maker of Flexees and Lilyette brand apparel gains market share.

For the first quarter, Maidenform expects to earn between 38 cents and 41 cents a share, well above analysts' consensus of a profit of 31 cents a share.

The company said net income for the fourth quarter was $7.7 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with $2.4 million, or 10 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 15.3 percent to $109.2 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 20 cents per share on revenue of $99.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the the Iselin, New Jersey-based company were up at $19.50 in pre-market trade Wednesday 3 March. They closed at $17.90 Tuesday 2 March on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Anthony Kurian)