SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Apparel brand Guess Inc (GES.N) posted an 11 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Wednesday 26 August that soundly beat Wall Street estimates, helped by double-digit sales growth in Europe and higher profit margins.

Guess Fall Winter 2009 collection - Photo: www.guess.eu

Shares of the company rose 2 percent in extended trading after rising more than 2 percent earlier in the day.

The results from the clothing retailer and wholesaler, which operates stores across the globe, stood out from most other U.S. clothing chains, which have been hit by a dramatic cutback in consumer spending that has eaten into profit.

The company warned that early shipments of goods in the second quarter would take away from sales in the third, and the high end of that quarter's profit outlook just met analysts' expectations.

Net income in Guess' second quarter rose to $59.6 million, or 64 cents per share, from $53.8 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a one-time asset impairment charge, Guess earned 65 cents per share, far above the 44 cents per share analysts on average expected, according to Reuters Estimates.

A lower tax rate also helped results in the quarter and Guess boosted its quarterly dividend by 25 percent to 12.5 cents per share.

Revenue rose 1.4 percent to $522.4 million, the company said. On a constant currency basis, the rise was 8.6 percent.

Guess, best known for its denim, has been able to lower its overall risk in the economic downturn due to an array of diverse markets and businesses, from accessories to jeans. The company has been expanding in Europe as well as in high-growth areas like China and Latin America.

"Our products are hitting the markets faster, and positioning us to benefit from early-season demand," said Chief Executive Paul Marciano, speaking to analysts during a call. He added that the company was making market-share gains.

In the company's North American retail unit -- where Guess operates some 421 stores that have been hurt by weak mall traffic -- sales fell 6.1 percent, and wholesale sales including Asian operations fell 13.3 percent.

But sales in Europe rose 20.6 percent. With Italy the company's most developed market, Guess has focused expansion efforts on France and Spain for the rest of the year.

Guess has been streamlining its operations and has already reduced its vendor base, in an ongoing process, by about 20 to 30 percent, executives said.

Helped by such cost cuts, operating margins rose to 17.4 percent of total sales in the quarter from 16.5 percent a year earlier. But that margin should fall to 14 percent in the third quarter, due to lower expected European sales, which carry a higher margin.

Guess said it expects earnings between 46 and 49 cents per share for the third quarter on revenue between $465 million and $485 million.

Wall Street has been expecting revenue of $479 million on earnings of 49 cents per share.

Shares of Guess -- which have climbed more than 109 percent since January -- were up 2.2 percent after-hours at $32.86 after closing at $32.15 in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage, editing by Matthew Lewis and Robert MacMillan)