For the second quarter ended July 28, Macy’s, Inc. recorded earnings of 67 cents per diluted share versus 55 cents per diluted share in the second quarter of 2011. Comparable store sales gained 3% versus the 2011 second quarter.

A Thomson Reuters average analyst estimate was for 64 cents per share.

Net income was $279 million versus $241 in the year-ago time frame. Sales in the most-recently completed period totaled $6.12 billion, up 3% from last year’s second quarter.

“We were pleased with our spring season results, and they came on top of exceptionally strong spring season performances in each of the past two years,” said Terry Lundgren, Macy’s chairman, president and CEO. “This indicates that our business continues to have forward momentum, even with challenges that include a soft economy, lower spending by international tourists and temporary disruptions associated with the major remodeling of our Herald Square flagship store in New York City, which was initiated in March. In response to these challenges, we have stayed very firmly focused on driving profitable sales growth while running the business with discipline to maintain margins and manage expenses."

Lundgren added, “We are entering the fall season with optimism about our ability to grow sales and capture market share, especially in the holiday season when shoppers naturally turn first to Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. The direction of the overall economy is outside of our control, so we will concentrate on what our company does best. We look forward to maintaining our holiday traditions, such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, to help our country, our customers and our employees celebrate with family and friends. We feel good about our very strong brand-driven merchandise assortment for gift-giving and self-purchase this fall, as well as the creative and compelling marketing programs that will drive consumer interest and traffic in stores and online. In the fourth quarter, we will take a scheduled break in the multi-year Herald Square remodeling project so that customer shopping patterns are uninterrupted during the holiday season. We expect all of our first- and second-floor selling space at Herald Square to be fully reopened over the next 90 days.”

Macy’s operates about 840 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The company also runs nine Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores.