UPDATE 2-Steve Madden sees higher Q3 on boot sales; ups FY view
* Sees Q3 EPS $0.97 vs est $0.64
* Sees Q3 sales $140 mln vs est $130.10 mln
* Sees full-year EPS $2.55-$2.65 vs est $2.11 * Sees full-year sales up 7 pct to 8 pct
* Strong boot sales primary driver of fall footwear sales (Adds analyst quote, byline)
Oct 20 (Reuters) - Shoe maker Steve Madden Ltd (SHOO.O) forecast strong third-quarter results and raised its full-year profit view to top market expectations, citing strong boot sales in the fall.
Shares of Steve Madden, which sells to 12 to 25-year-old girls, were trading up 5.8 percent at $42.31 Tuesday afternoon, after hitting a high of $45.48 earlier in the session.
"This year they are selling a lot of short boots, or booties," Sterne Agee & Leach analyst Sam Poser said.
"Those did not do well last year when they tested them but they've really taken off this fall."
The company, whose lines include flagship brand Steve Madden, Stevies and Candies, expects to post a 56 percent jump in third-quarter profit to 97 cents a share and sees net sales of about $140 million, compared with $128.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts were looking for a third-quarter profit of 64 cents a share on revenue of $130.10 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Poser said Steve Madden's growth has been helped because it serves the same consumer across a core business that goes from selling at Wal-Mart stores (WMT.N) "all the way up to the Elizabeth and James stuff," which sells $300 shoes.
"They have been able... to really lock in their core Steve Madden, Madden Girl business," he said, adding "they are the most focused company of pretty much anybody in the space."
Steve Madden, based in Long Island City, New York, raised its 2009 profit view for a second time, saying it now sees a full-year profit between $2.55 and $2.65 a share, up from an earlier forecast of $2.05 to $2.15.
It also expects full-year net sales to grow by 7 percent to 8 percent, from $457 million a year ago. Analysts were looking for a full-year profit of $2.11 a share on revenue of $471.07 million.
"Our updated full-year guidance reflects our expectation for continued momentum in our business for the remainder of the year," Chief Executive Edward Rosenfeld said in a statement.
The company plans to report its third-quarter results on Nov. 3. (Additional reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Mike Miller, Anthony Kurian)
