UPDATE 2-Columbia Sportswear deepens loss

* Q2 loss 29 cents per share vs Street's loss of 41 cents

* Q2 revenue down 16 percent

* Shares hold steady (Adds estimates, revenue detail, CEO quote, background)

SAN FRANCISCO, July 28 (Reuters) - Columbia Sportswear Co (COLM.O) reported a deeper quarterly net loss on Tuesday that nevertheless beat Wall Street expectations, as cost cuts helped to partly offset sharply lower sales at the outerwear maker.

Chief Executive Tim Boyle said the results were "slightly better" than the company anticipated because sales slid less than foreseen and cost control measures helped.

"The global retail environment continued to provide significant headwind, which we expect to persist through at least the remainder of 2009 and into 2010," Boyle said in a statement.

The company behind the Columbia Sportswear, Montrail and Pacific Trail brands said the net loss in its second quarter came to $9.9 million, or a loss of 29 cents per share, from a year-earlier net loss of $1.8 million, or 5 cents per share.

Analysts, on average, had been expecting a net loss of 41 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

But revenue fell 16 percent to $179.2 million, exceeding slightly the $167.3 million that Wall Street had been expecting.

The company cautioned that second-quarter revenue historically accounts for only about 15 percent of annual sales. Results can fluctuate because of shifts in the timing of shipments, which are often made early in the third quarter.

Columbia, a major supplier to department stores and other big retail chains, has been hurt as shoppers cut back on apparel purchases.

Foreign currency fluctuations have also crimped results at the Portland, Oregon-based company, which has not seen a quarterly revenue gain since the first quarter of 2008. In the second quarter, changes in currency rates had a 4 percentage point negative effect on revenue.

The quarter's biggest revenue decline came from the region encompassing Europe, the Middle East and Africa, down 47 percent, followed closely by a 44 percent decline in Canada, a smaller market.

In the United States, net sales rose 2 percent, with a high single-digit decline in wholesale offset by a significant increase in the company's branded and outlet stores.

Looking ahead, Columbia still expects full-year net sales to decline in the low double digits on a percentage basis, with operating income falling some 300 to 350 basis points.

For the third quarter, Columbia said net sales would fall in the low double-digits on a percentage basis.

It said operating income would likely decline between 650 to 700 basis points, largely due to unfavorable hedge rates in Canada and lower wholesale gross margins from reduced volume in the United States.

Columbia shares, which are up 41 percent from a year low of $25.29 in March, closed at $35.66 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; editing by Matthew Lewis and Andre Grenon)