March 25 (Reuters) - G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII.O) swung to a fourth-quarter profit, helped by strong consumer demand, and the clothing maker forecast a narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter.

Guess by Marciano from G-III Apparel Group - Photo: www.g-iii.com

For the first quarter, G-III expects a loss of 18 cents to 23 cents a share, on sales of about $135 million.

Analysts on average were looking for a loss of 33 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $123.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the quarter ended Jan. 31, G-III, whose brands include Marvin Richards, Black Rivet and Winlit, earned $9.0 million, or 49 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $32.1 million, or $1.93 a share, a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 40 cents a share.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $193.8 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 2 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $174.8 million.

New York City-based G-III's shares closed at $23.22 Wednesday 24 March on Nasdaq. They touched a year high of $23.40 on Tuesday 23 March. (Reporting by Vinay Sarawagi; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)