May 4 (Reuters) - Cabela's Inc (CAB.N) posted a first-quarter profit that breezed past Wall Street expectations, as revenue from its financial services segment surged, and the company said its 2010 earnings could meet or exceed current expectations.

Photo: www.cabelas.com

For the first quarter ended April 3, the company, which mainly sells equipment and apparel for outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing, reported a net income of $8.1 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with $5.1 million, or 8 cents, last year.

The company, which also operates a catalog, an online business and a credit card unit, reported earnings of 29 cents a share, excluding a $12 million after-tax charge associated with the credit card unit.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 10 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Total revenue rose 5 percent to $559.6 million, after adjusting for divestments the company made late last year, while same-store sales fell 1.7 percent.

Revenue in the company's financial services segment surged 77 percent due to higher interest and fee income and a lower provision for loan losses.

The financial services segment issues and manages the Cabela's CLUB Visa card and related customer loyalty rewards program through its World's Foremost Bank unit.

Analysts were expecting sales of $538.2 million.

Analysts expect the company to earn $1.33 a share for 2010.

Shares of the company were up 2 percent at $19.28 in early morning trade Tuesday 4 May on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)