Men's Wearhouse Q1 beats estimates, shares rise

Men's Wearhouse

June 8 (Reuters) - Men's Wearhouse (MW.N) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by cost-cutting measures and operational efficiencies, and forecast second-quarter profit that could exceed analysts' estimates, sending its shares up nearly 9 percent.

The clothing retailer earned $5.3 million, or 10 cents a share, in the first quarter ended May 2, compared with $9.9 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier.

Total net sales fell 5.5 percent to $464.1 million in the quarter.

Analysts were expecting the company to break even on a per-share basis, before special items, on revenue of $459.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Selling, general and administrative expenses fell 9 percent to $179.2 million.

For the second quarter, the company expects net earnings of 56 cents to 60 cents a share and total sales to decline 3 percent to 5 percent.

Analysts were looking for earnings of 56 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $518.3 million.

Shares of the Houston-based company were trading at $19.40 after the bell. They closed at $17.87 Monday 8 June on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Amitha Rajan in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)