NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Macy's Inc., the second-biggest US department-store chain, reported second-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates and raised its earnings and sales forecasts for the year.

Net income rose to $147 million, or 35 cents a share, in the three months ended July 31 from $7 million, or two cents, a year earlier, the Cincinnati-based company said yesterday in a statement. Analysts estimated profit of 29 cents, the average of 14 projections compiled by Bloomberg. The company said it will earn as much as $1.90 a share and sales will increase as much as 4.2 percent at stores open at least a year. The retailer said sales rose 7.2 percent to $5.54 billion as it benefited from its strategy of tailoring to local tastes and selling exclusive merchandise as consumer spending increased from a year earlier.

Macy's raised its forecast for annual earnings on April 27 to $1.75 to $1.80 a share. Analysts estimate $1.84, the average of projections compiled by Bloomberg.