May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Whole Foods Markets Inc., the largest natural-goods grocer in the U.S., reported second-quarter profit that fell less than analysts’ estimates, sending the shares higher in late trading.

Net income declined for a 10th straight quarter to $35.3 million, or 19 cents a share, from $40 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said today. Excluding some costs, the company earned 24 cents a share, exceeding the 19-cent average of 14 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Falling prices on vegetables and meats allowed Whole Foods to run weekend specials and other promotions on those items to draw customers, executives told analysts on a conference call. Comparable-store sales fell 4.8 percent compared with a decline of 5 percent projected by Scott Mushkin, a Jeffries & Co. analyst in New York.

Whole Foods affirmed its forecast for 2009 earnings per share of 71 to 76 cents based on projected full-year revenue of “just under” $8 billion. Analysts expect 71 cents a share on sales of $8.06 billion.

The shares jumped 10 percent to $22.03 at 4:16 p.m. New York time after the earnings were announced. Earlier, Whole Foods dropped $2.07, or 9.4 percent, to $20 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The stock has more than doubled this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Burritt in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 1348 or cburritt@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 13, 2009 18:33 EDT