LOS ANGELES, May 27 (Reuters) - Apparel retailer J Crew Group Inc (JCG.N) posted a quarterly profit on Thursday 27 May that topped Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook.

Photo: www.jcrew.com

The company, which caters to urban professionals willing to pay extra to make subtle fashion statements, boosted its full-year earnings forecast to $2.35 to $2.45 per share from $2.20 to $2.30 per share previously.

New York-based J Crew said fewer markdowns and promotions helped first-quarter net income rise to $44.7 million, or 68 cents per share, from $20.4 million, or 32 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts, on average, were looking for a profit of 57 cents per share in the recently completed quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 20 percent to $413.9 million.

It forecast second-quarter earnings of 40 cents to 45 cents per share.

Shares rose 1.5 percent to $44.50 after closing up 4.1 percent at $43.86 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)