March 11 (Reuters) - Apparel retailer Buckle Inc (BKE.N) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by strong online sales.

Buckle.com

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, the company earned $42.1 million, or 90 cents a share, compared with $34.3 million, or 74 cents a share, a year ago.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 84 cents a share, before items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Online sales jumped 36 percent to $18.0 million during the quarter. Same-store sales rose nearly 4 percent.

Buckle, which has been guarding sales with higher price points compared to its peers, did not offer significant discounts during the holiday season.

The company had earlier reported that fourth-quarter sales rose 9 percent to $274.4 million. Shares of the Kearney, Nebraska-based company closed at $34.59 Wednesday 10 March on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Renju Jose in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)