UPDATE 1-G-III Q4 profit doubles on sportswear sales

(Recasts; adds Q1 outlook, details, background)

March 31 (Reuters) - Clothing maker G-III Apparel Group Ltd's (GIII.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, beating market estimates, as its move to expand into the fast-growing sportswear sector bore fruit and helped it buck sluggish retail trends.

But the company expected the retail environment to be challenging and forecast a loss for the first quarter on charges related to its acquisition of luxury brand Andrew Marc last month.

G-III, based in New York, reported a net profit of $1.1 million, or 6 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $518,000, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, earnings were 15 cents a share. Net sales rose about 30 percent to $128.7 million.

Analysts on average expected earnings of 4 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $119.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

G-III Apparel, which has licenses to make branded apparel under the Calvin Klein, Sean John, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's and Dockers labels among others, has been expanding its non-outerwear business, which includes a line of women's clothes for yoga, running, tennis and biking.

In December, it bought a license from Calvin Klein Inc, a unit of Phillips-Van Heusen Corp (PVH.N: Quote, Profile, Research), to make a new line of women's performance clothing. G-III had already held licenses to make Calvin Klein outerwear, as well as women's dresses and suits.

An increasing number of brands have entered the fast-growing performance apparel sector, which offers clothing in synthetic fabrics that purport to dry quickly while keeping bodies warm while exercising.