FIMALAC 
By (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's owner, McGraw Hill Financial Inc (>> McGraw Hill Financial Inc), reported a higher-than-expected 56 percent jump in quarterly profit due to strong growth at the rating agency and S&P Dow Jones indices.
The company, which also raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast, said net income from continuing operations jumped to $235 million, or 84 cents per share, in the third quarter from $151 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.
The rise comes as the company is fighting a $5 billion U.S. government lawsuit that accuses Standard & Poor's of misleading investors by inflating credit ratings on risky mortgage-backed securities before the housing crash.
The company, whose rivals include Moody's Corp's (>> Moody's Corporation), Moody's Investors Service and Fimalac SA's (>> FIMALAC) Fitch Ratings, raised its 2013 outlook to an adjusted profit of $3.25 to $3.30 per share from $3.15-$3.25.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 80 cents per share from continuing operations in the quarter ended September 30.
Total revenue rose 7 percent to $1.19 billion.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 77 cents per share on revenue of $1.17 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue from the company's commercial and commodities businesses, which include the Platts brand, rose 7 percent to $255 million. Revenue from its S&P Dow Jones indices grew 14 percent to $124 million.
Revenue at S&P Ratings increased 8 percent to $540 million, driven by an increase in bank loan ratings.
The 125-year old company's shares, which have risen about 19 percent in the last three months, closed at $69.79 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
(Reporting by Neha Dimri and Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sriraj Kalluvila)
