Corrected: Target posts higher quarterly profit

CHICAGO (Reuters) - TARGET (TGT.NY)Corp posted higher quarterly earnings, helped by sales of more profitable items like clothing and improved profit at its credit card business.

The discounter said profit rose to $679 million, or 92 cents a share, in the second quarter ended July 31 from $594 million, or 79 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had forecast 92 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Earlier this month, Target reported sales of $15.13 billion for the quarter at its retail business, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.7 percent.

On Tuesday, larger rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted 1.8 percent drop in same-store sales at its U.S. discount stores.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Gerald E. McCormick)

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