May 16 - Urban Outfitters Inc stores posted a rise in its first-quarter revenue that beat market estimates, helped by higher sales at its direct-to consumer and wholesale segments.

Urban Outfitters

Shares of the operator of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People and Terrain stores rose 3 percent in after-market trading.

The company's direct-to-consumer sales -- websites and catalogs -- rose 18.5 percent, while the wholesale segment sales rose 21.4 percent.

The company, which operates stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, posted net income of $39 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $53 million, or 31 cents a year ago.

Revenue for the first quarter rose 9 percent to $524 million.

Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 24 cents a share, on revenue of $521.7 million.

Shares of Philadelphia-based Urban, were trading at $33.11 in trading after the bell. They had closed at $32.29 on Monday on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)