WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Coach, Inc. (COH), which designs and markets gifts and accessories for women and men, said Tuesday that its second quarter profit rose 15% from last year, helped by strong sales in North America during the recent holiday season. The company's quarterly earnings per share also came in above analysts' expectations. The New York-based company reported net income for the second quarter of $347.5 million or $1.18 per share, compared to $303.4 million or $1.00 per share for the year-ago quarter. On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.15 per share for the second quarter. Gross margin for the quarter declined to 72.2% from 72.4% a year earlier. Sales for the second quarter rose 15% to $1.45 billion from $1.26 billion in the same quarter last year. Twenty-three analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.43 billion for the second quarter. Direct-to-consumer sales, which now include the company's Singapore business, increased 17% to $1.28 billion in the second quarter from $1.10 billion a year ago. North American same-store sales for the quarter rose 8.8%. Japan sales were flat on a constant-currency basis, while China sales remained strong, as POS sales continued to comp at a double-digit rate. Indirect sales were flat with prior year, on a comparable basis, at $166 million in the second quarter, hurt by the timing of international shipments. Lew Frankfort, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coach, Inc., said, 'We were especially pleased with our ongoing strength in North America during the holiday season, as total revenues rose 15%. This growth indicates that we are continuing to increase our share of an expanding U.S. accessories market.' During the second quarter, the company opened five retail stores and five factory stores including two Men's retail stores and one Men's factory store in North America, bringing the total to 350 retail stores and 157 factory stores as of December 31, 2011. In Japan, Coach opened six locations taking the total to 184 at the end of the quarter. In China, nine new locations were opened during the quarter including a flagship in Hong Kong and eight locations on the Mainland, bringing the total to 80. The company repurchased and retired nearly 4.8 million shares of its common stock during the second quarter for $300 million . At the end of the quarter, about $600 million remained under the company's current repurchase authorization. Coach shares are currently trading at $68.63, up $4.39 or 6.83%.
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