Mississippi government collected more money than expected during the first nine months of the state budget year, partly because of lawsuit settlements.

The Legislative Budget Office released numbers Friday showing the state collected about $120 million more than experts had predicted from July through March.

That’s about 3.2% above the original estimate.

That included more than $17 million in lawsuit settlements. Corporate tax collections also exceeded expectations.

Top lawmakers last month revised the estimate of how much money the state will collect during the current budget year, which ends June 30. Even with the revision, collections remain above expectations.

The new numbers also show the amount of money collected by state government was 3% higher the first nine months of this budget year than the same period last year.