DaVita Inc. said late Tuesday its profit rose 15 percent in the fourth quarter as treatment volumes grew at its chain of kidney dialysis centers. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Late Tuesday, the El Segundo company reported net income of $98.4 million (94 cents per share), compared to $85.7 million (79 cents) a year earlier. Revenue rose 8 percent to $1.46 billion. The company provided nearly 52,500 treatments a day in the fourth quarter, up nearly 5 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected profit of 90 cents per share on revenue of $1.47 billion.

DaVita, which last year added 90 outpatient dialysis centers to bring its total to 1,449 facilities, said its full year adjusted net income grew 10 percent to $374 million ($3.53 a share) as revenue rose 8 percent to $5.66 billion.

DaVita maintained its guidance for operating income of $820 million to $880 million in 2009.

DaVita shares were up $4.47, or 9.4 percent, to $51.90 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.