SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Upscale apparel retailer J Crew Group Inc (JCG.N) reported on Thursday 28 May that first quarter earnings fell by a third, but beat analysts' estimates, and the company gave an outlook for the a second quarter profit versus Wall Street's expected loss.

J Crew Summer 2009

The company's shares rose 11 percent in after-hours trading.

Increased markdowns to clear unsold fashions in the downturn hurt the company's profit in the first quarter.

J Crew, which also operates a catalog and website, said net income in its first quarter fell to $20.4 million, or 32 cents per share, from $30.5 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings of 11 cents a share, according to Reuters estimates.

The company, whose clothing carries higher prices than most retailers in the mall, has struggled in recent quarters with falling profit, as too-high inventory levels have forced the company to discount, undermining profit margins.

Revenue rose 2 percent in the quarter to $345.8 million, the company said.

Looking to the second quarter, J Crew said it expects earnings per share to range between 8 cents and 12 cents. That was well above the loss of 3 cents per share expected, on average, by Wall Street, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares rose 11 percent to $22.80 after closing at $20.46, up 1.4 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; editing by Carol Bishopric)