Chile retailer Falabella's second quarter net profit up 2.5 pct

Chile's Falabella, one of Latin America's largest retailers, said late on Tuesday that its second-quarter net profit rose 2.5 percent compared with a year earlier, due to increased sales despite weak economic growth in the region.

Falabella reported a net profit of 118.3 billion pesos ($178.9 million) in the second quarter, slightly below a Reuters forecast for a profit of 121.6 billion pesos.

Sales for the group, which has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay, grew 5.6 percent to 2.12 trillion pesos ($3.2 billion).

$1 = 661.49 pesos on June 30