Little Rock retailer Dillard's saw an increase in sales during its second quarter, but profits were slightly lower.

The mall and online retailer reported quarterly sales of $1.536 billion compared to $1.514 billion a year ago. Net income was $72.8 million down from $74.5 million in last year's second quarter.

Diluted earnings per share for the quarter was $4.66 versus $4.59 one year ago.

"We were happy to achieve a sales increase for the first time in a while and encouraged by strengthening sales trends in July. In an operating environment that changes daily, we focused on controlling inventory, ending up 2% compared to 6% at the end of first quarter," said Dillard's CEO William T. Dillard, II.

Other highlights of the second quarter compared to the prior year second quarter included:

The company purchased $9.8 million (approximately 24,500 shares) of Class A Common Stock at an average price of $398.67 per share during the quarter.

Shares of Dillard's stock closed trading Wednesday at $497.93. The company's stock has hovered between a low of $282.24 per share and a high of $514.39 per share over the past year.

Dillard's operates 272 Dillard's stores, including 28 clearance centers, spanning 30 states and an Internet store at dillards.com.