Men's Wearhouse reported a quarterly profit that beat market estimates, helped by lower expenses, but forecast weak third-quarter earnings.

The apparel retailer sees earnings of 27 cents to 30 cents a share in the third quarter. It expects total sales to be in the range of flat to a decrease of 2 percent for the period.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 32 cents a share on revenue of $454.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

For the second quarter ended Aug. 1, the company earned $39.5 million, or 75 cents per share, compared with $32.8 million, or 63 cents a share, a year ago.

Total net sales fell about 4 percent to $526.2 million.

Analysts were looking for a profit of 60 cents a share, on revenue of $524.5 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses fell 13 percent to $173.9 million.

The clothing retailer has kept a tight lid on expenses by sourcing goods at attractive prices, while better merchandise supported by advertising dollars has driven traffic at its K&G discount chain.

Shares of the Houston-based company slipped 4 percent to $26.35 in trading after the bell. They closed at $27.51 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Viraj Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)