Shares in Guess Inc. jumped more than $2 Wednesday after the company handily topped Wall Street’s forecasts with its first quarter earnings.

Guess reported first quarter net income for the period ending May 1 of $36 million (38 cents per share), a 72 percent gain from $21 million (23 cents) from the same period a year earlier. Company executives credited a jump in sales at its European and wholesale divisions for the results. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were projecting a profit of $20.7 million (23 cents).

Sales for the Los Angeles-based clothing retailer jumped 42 percent to $378 million. The apparel maker increased its annual forecast, and now expects to earn $1.75 to $1.80 a share this year.

Guess also boosted its second quarter profit projection to between 31 cents and 33 cents per share on sales of between $335 million to $345 million. The company raised its fiscal 2008 earnings outlook to a per-share range of $1.75 to $1.80 and now projects revenue of $1.51 billion to $1.56 billion.

Shares in Guess were trading at more than $49 in Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.