NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Sports Authority Inc., the sporting goods retailer, posted fiscal second-quarter earnings Wednesday in line with forecasts, and predicted a weaker-than-expected current quarter followed by a stronger-than-forecast holiday shopping period.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based retailer says net income for the quarter ended Aug. 3 rose to $9.3 million, or 27 cents a share, from $7.6 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest quarter matched the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by the research firm First Call.

The year-earlier quarter includes a $327,000 extraordinary gain.

Sales rose 1.3 percent to $375.8 million. Sales at stores open a year or more gained 0.2 percent.

But Sports Authority said the continued soft economy and the uncertainty about consumer sentiment during the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would make the final six months of its fiscal year difficult to predict. It now expects a third-quarter loss of between 15 cents and 17 cents a share. The First Call consensus is a 9-cent-a-share loss.

The company projected earnings for its fourth quarter, the yearend holiday shopping season, at 50 cents to 53 cents a share, above the 46-cent First Call consensus.

Sports Authority (TSA: Research, Estimates) shares fell 7 cents to $8.63 Tuesday.

Sports Authority said CEO Marty Hanaka and chief financial officer George Mihalko expect to certify the company's results without reservation by the Securities and Exchange Commission deadline of Sept. 17.