Children's clothing company Carter's Inc reported quarterly profit ahead of market expectations, helped by higher gross margins.

Photo: Carter's

Carter's said it expects adjusted earnings for the full year to increase about 20 to 25 percent from the $2.09 per share profit it reported a year earlier.

The company, which owns retail stores and sells its merchandise through discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, said it expects net sales for 2012 to rise 9 to 11 percent from fiscal 2011.

Earnings for the quarter rose to $20.8 million, or 35 cents per share, from $12.7 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-off costs, the company earned 37 cents.

Sales rose 20 percent to $472 million.

Analysts on average expected earnings of 30 cents per share on revenue of $474.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Carter's shares closed at $52.14 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.