Nov 12 (Reuters) - Urban Outfitters Inc's (URBN.O) quarterly net profit rose marginally and beat market expectations by a penny, driven by strong sales at its Anthropologie chain.

Urban Outfitters

Third-quarter sales at Anthropologie, which caters to 30 to 45-year old women, rose 14 percent to $181.6 million.

The company posted a third-quarter profit of $62.4 million, or 36 cents per share, up from $59.3 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts were looking for earnings of 35 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Gross profit margin rose by 65 basis points, on improved merchandise margins, but was partially offset by increased merchandise markdowns to clear seasonal inventories.

As previously reported, third-quarter revenue at the apparel, accessories and home goods retailer rose 6 percent to $506 million, while overall same-stores sales rose 2 percent in the quarter.

They fell 5 percent at Urban Outfitters and rose 3 percent at Anthropologie.

The company, which has stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, also owns the Free People and Leifsdottir brands and one Terrain garden center.

The company has been selling more higher-margin, owned brands at its Urban Outfitters stores, while trying to control costs and its markdown cadence.

Shares of the Philadelphia-based company, which have nearly doubled in the last one year, closed at $32.27 Wednesday 11 November on Nasdaq. For the alerts, double-click (Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)