Limited’s profit plummets 61%

Limited Brands Inc. said Wednesday that its fiscal second-quarter profit fell by more than half amid a difficult retail environment, but results beat expectations as the company kept a tight rein on costs.

Shares rose $1.09, or 6.1%, to $18.90 after hours. They had closed at $17.97 before earnings were released.

The Columbus, Ohio, company, which operates Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret, said profit for the three months that ended Aug. 2 fell 61% to $102 million, or 30 cents a share, from $264.4 million, or 67 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 13% to $2.28 billion.

Excluding one-time items, net income came to 27 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 20 cents a share on revenue of $2.31 billion.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least one year, fell 7%.

The company predicts third-quarter results ranging from break-even to earnings of 4 cents a share, excluding one-time items. Analysts expect 4 cents a share.

For the year, the firm expects earnings of $1.45 to $1.60 a share, excluding one-time items. Analysts expect $1.48.