UPDATE 3-Abercrombie profit tops view; affirms outlook

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By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported higher quarterly profit on Friday, topping Wall Street estimates, as a lower tax rate and a better gross margin helped offset the impact of lower same-store sales.

The seller of casual clothes like jeans and T-shirts for teens also affirmed its earnings outlook for the first half of the year.

Abercrombie said net profit rose 3 percent to $62.1 million, or 69 cents per share, in the first quarter ended on May 3, from $60.1 million, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Analysts on average were expecting 66 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The gross profit margin was 66.8 percent, up 120 basis points from last year, as higher initial markups and a lower rate of lost or stolen merchandise offset deeper markdowns, which were needed to lure cash-strapped U.S. consumers to spend in a weak economy.

Sales at stores open at least a year, the key retail gauge known as same-store sales, fell 3 percent -- nearly double analysts' average estimate for a 1.6 percent decline, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Net sales were up 8 percent to $800.2 million.