NOT BAD EARNINGS BETTER THEN EXPECTED.




Q2 adj. loss $0.02 vs est loss $0.04

* Q2 rev falls 5.2 pct to $334.7 mln vs est $340.5 mln

* Backs FY EPS view $1.70-$1.80

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Shoe and hat retailer Genesco Inc (GCO.N) posted a second-quarter loss that was narrower than market expectations, on improved cost-cutting efforts, and it backed its full-year profit outlook.

Genesco, which saw same-store sales fall 8 percent in the quarter, said sales comparisons would moderate in the second half of the year and it expects sales at stores open at least a year to grow in the fourth quarter.

The company, whose brands include Journeys and Hatworld, posted a second-quarter net loss of $2.8 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a loss of $10.8 million, or 58 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, the company lost 2 cents a share compared with analysts' average estimate of a loss of 4 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 1 fell 5.2 percent to $334.7 million. Selling and administrative expenses fell 2.8 percent to $164.8 million.

Genesco expects full-year per-share profit in the range of $1.70 to $1.80.

Shares of the company closed at $20.81 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Mihir Dalal in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)