Topeka-based Payless ShoeSource Inc. said Thursday that quarterly same-store sales fell less sharply than the company had expected as warm July weather drove up demand for sandals and other seasonal items.

The country’s largest shoe retailer, whose shares rose 5.25 percent to close at $13.64 Thursday, said it expected to post a small profit for the second quarter that ended Saturday. In June, it had forecast “a nominal loss to a slight profit.”

Payless, which operates 5,020 stores in the United States and abroad, reported quarterly same-store sales dropped by 6.4 percent. That was better than earlier estimates by the company, which pegged the decline in the low double digits.

The company also reported a 2.8 percent rise in July same-store sales.