Estee Lauder Cos. Inc., the beauty-products maker, said Friday that its profit for the first-quarter would be much higher than forecast earlier owing to better-than-expected sales.

The announcement of expectation of better results pushed shares in Estee Lauder up by more than 5 per cent to $41.11-a-share at 4:02 p.m. on the NYSE.  It was the highest jump by the Estee Lauder’s shares since May 4.

The New York-based Estee Lauder added that it could lift its per share profit forecast, excluding items, for the year ended June 30, when it would post its first quarter results on October 30.

Earlier in August, Estee Lauder had projected first-quarter net profit of 23-30 cents a share.

Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn 26 cents a share.

Estee Lauder said that it remained cautious about the economic climate worldwide throughout the year.