Nov 19 (Reuters) - Hibbett Sports Inc (HIBB.O) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by tight expense control, and raised its fiscal 2010 earnings outlook.

The sporting goods retailer projected earnings of 95 cents to $1.02 a share, up from its prior view of 85 cents to 95 cents a share.

For the fourth quarter, sales at stores open for at least a year, a key measure of retail strength, are expected to be down 2 percent to up 2 percent.

"Apparel, accessories, equipment and cleated footwear all posted positive same store sales in the third quarter, and we expect that trend to continue in the fourth quarter," Chief Executive Mickey Newsome said in a statement.

For the third quarter, net income rose to $8.8 million, or 30 cents a share, from $7.7 million, or 26 cents a share, a year ago.

Sales rose 4 percent to $145.9 million.

Analysts on average are expecting the company to earn 24 cents a share on revenue of $144.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Birmingham, Alabama-based Hibbett closed at $18.97 Thursday 19 November on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Viraj Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)