BRIEF: Brown Shoe’s 2Q profit up 18 percent

BRIEF: Brown Shoe’s 2Q profit up 18 percent

Strength in its wholesale business and its Famous Footwear chain boosted Brown Shoe’s second quarter profit 18 percent.

The Clayton-based retailer reported an $18.1 million profit, or 41 cents a share, for the quarter that ended Aug. 2, up from $15.4 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose to $635.9 million, a 2.3 percent increase.

Famous Footwear’s sales rose 1.4 percent in the quarter, to $393.6 million. Brown Shoe’s wholesale division rose 7.7 percent in the quarter to $194.3 million.

The company said it expects to earn between $1.50 and $1.60 a share for the year. It previously forecast earnings ranging between $1.47 and $1.57 a share.

Lisa Brown is a business reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @LisaBrownSTL and the Business section @postdispatchbiz.