Bed Bath & Beyond 2nd-quarter profit up slightly

A dinnerware set in an undated image courtesy of Bed Bath & Beyond. The home goods retailer posted a slightly higher quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by increased sales and a one-time tax benefit.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) posted a slightly higher quarterly profit on Wednesday on increased sales and a one-time tax benefit and said its board of directors approved a $1 billion share buyback program.

The company's shares rose 2.2 percent in extended trade.

Bed Bath & Beyond, which operates the Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon Stores and buybuy BABY chains, said second-quarter net income rose 1 percent to $147 million, or 55 cents a share, from $145.5 million, or 51 cents a year earlier. Results in the current quarter included a one-time benefit of $5.8 million due to certain tax items recorded during the period.

Excluding the one-time benefit, the company earned 52 cents a share, meeting Wall Street analysts' average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

Bed Bath & Beyond has been a relative bright spot in a retail sector that has been battered by a weakened housing market and high costs for fuel and food. Earlier this week, retailers Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW.N) and Target Corp. (TGT.N) warned of weaker-than-expected results, sending retail stocks tumbling and fueling concerns about a weak holiday shopping season.

Morgan Keegan analyst Laura Champine said she did not expect demand for home furnishings to recover any time soon, but said Bed Bath & Beyond would likely continue to perform better than rivals such as Linens 'n Things due to its stronger marketing and merchandise.

"Bed Bath has a brand reputation that makes it possible for them to drive traffic without very aggressive promotions," Champine, who has a "market perform" rating on the stock, said in an interview, adding that a broader recovery was far off.

"It will be a while before this space does better," she said.

Bed Bath & Beyond's quarterly sales rose 10 percent to $1.77 billion, the Union, New Jersey-based company said, in line with analysts' average estimate.

Comparable store sales, a key retail measure of sales at stores open at least a year, rose 2.2 percent.

The company's shares rose to $34.58 in extended trading after closing at $33.83 on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stock is down 11 percent so far this year, as of Wednesday's close.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom)