June 2 (Reuters) - Shoe Carnival Inc (SCVL.O) forecast a second-quarter profit largely below Wall Street expectations on decelerating sales at stores open more than a year, sending the retailer's share down 11 percent.

Photo: www.shoecarnival.com

The company, which posted a first-quarter profit beating market estimates, expects to earn 23 cents a share to 27 cents a share for the current quarter.

Analysts expect the company to earn 27 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The retailer also projected net sales of $165 million to $168 million, below analysts' estimates of $170.9 million. Same-store sales are expected to increase 8 percent to 10 percent, slowing down from a 13 percent rise in the first quarter.

Last year, second-quarter same-store sales fell 6.4 percent, while they fell 0.04 percent in the first quarter.

For the first quarter ended May 1, the company earned $9.2 million, or 72 cents a share, compared with $4.1 million, or 33 cents a share, last year.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 71 cents a share for the first quarter.

Strong sales of athletic and toning equipment and reduced promotional activity helped widen gross margins to 31.3 percent from 27.9 percent.

Last month, the company had reported first-quarter sales of $189.5 million, up 13 percent from a year ago.

Shares of the company fell 11 percent to $22.42 before recovering some losses to trade at $23.24 Wednesday (2 June) morning on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Viraj Nair and Abhishek Takle in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal and Don Sebastian)