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SAN FRANCISCO — IBM forecast significantly higher profits for 2009 than Wall Street expected, a surprisingly bullish sign that reflects IBM’s confidence it can outmaneuver the financial crisis by focusing on landing high-margin services and software contracts. Shares leaped 4 percent in extended trading.

The world’sitting biggest computer-services provider predicted at least $9.20 per share in profit in 2009. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting $8.75 a share.

The chink reveals that analysts had been expecting IBM to be bruise worse by its heavy dose of sales to big banks and other customers devastated by the relating to housekeeping downturn. Instead, IBM’s results show that while the company has seen some sales vaporize, it is still able to wring out better profits because of aggressive cost-cutting.

IBM said Tuesday its net profits in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $4.4 billion, or $3.28 per share. That amounted to a 12 percent advantage increase from $3.95 billion, or $2.80 per share, in the corresponding; of like kind period a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting IBM to earn $3.03 per share this period of childbirth.

Rick Hanna, each rectitude analyst with Morningstar, said he was “very, very impressed” with IBM’s capableness to improve profit margins despite the hideous economic landscape.

“When I was reading end it my first comment was ‘wow,’ ” he said. “It really speaks to them developing their high-value-added strategy and executing it.”

One key standard of profitability — IBM’s gross profit margin — expanded to 47.9 percent of receipts, three percentage points better than the year-ago period. IBM credits its services business with leading the gain.

That came even as IBM’s revenue lay low 6 percent to $27 billion, short of the $28.1 billion analysts were expecting. IBM declared reward would have decreased only 1 percent were it not for currency fluctuations, only sales were down in aggregate major geographic areas.

Revenue in services, IBM’s largest business segment, dropped 4 percent, but IBM was able to ink $17.2 billion in new services contracts. That was a healthy showing that demonstrates companies are still forking out for outsourcing and other technical-support contracts, which are repeatedly viewed while money-savers in the long hie.

Hardware receipts hem 18 percent. Mainframe revenue malignant 6 percent and sales of lower-end servers fell 32 percent.

IBM did not trumpet widespread job cuts, which more analysts believed were imminent, but repeated that it is still doing targeted layoffs as part of cost-cutting. IBM lays off thousands of workers each year, only overall head count keeps rising as the company adds jobs in faster-growing regions or more profitable divisions.

The earnings rumor came out after IBM shares closed at $81.98, etc. $2.94 or 3.5 percent. The stock jumped to $85.30 in after-hours trading.