LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Outdoor sporting goods retailer Cabela's Inc (CAB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday that quarterly net profit rose, matching Wall Street expectations that were lowered after the company warned last month it would fall short of analysts' estimates.

Same-store sales, or sales at established stores, were down 5.9 percent, as the company predicted in January.

Fourth-quarter net profit at the company, which also operates a popular catalog for outdoorsmen, was $56.2 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with $53.4 million, or 80 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings matched analysts' expectations of 84 cents, on average, according to Reuters Estimates.

Those estimates were lowered from an average of 91 cents after the company warned in January that earnings would be below Wall Street expectations.

It also said then it expected earnings per share in 2008 to grow at a mid-single digit rate, an expectation it reiterated on Thursday.

Total revenue rose 13.9 percent to $889.5 million, just below the $890.8 million expected, on average, by analysts.

Looking ahead, the company's first objective is to improve results at retail, Chief Executive Dennis Highby said in a statement.

"Our focus will be on strengthening our retail store operations, improving our promotional activity to preserve margins, improving our merchandise and inventory management and augmenting our advertising strategy," Highby said.