Dow Chemical Co said on Thursday that third-quarter net income jumped 78 percent even as sales dropped.

The largest U.S. chemical maker posted net income of $711 million, or 63 cents per share, up from $428 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding recent divestitures and other one-time items, earnings were 24 cents per share.

By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 10 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimates.

Revenue fell 22 percent to $12.05 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $11.85 billion.

Shares rose 37 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $25.87 in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)