April 7 - Movado Group Inc's quarterly profit beat market expectations, helped by strong demand of its brands in the key holiday selling season, and the watchmaker reinstated its quarterly dividend program.

Top model Gisele Bundchen wearing Ebel: watch brand belonging to the Movado Group

Movado, which sells its products through department store chains and jewelry stores, also forecast a strong 2012 ahead and expects earnings of 60-65 cents a share in the year. Sales are expected to rise 11-13 percent.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 36 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $399.87 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company, whose watch brands include Concord, Ebel and the namesake Movado, has been trying to lure customers by focusing more on popular licensed brands and initiated a plan to revamp its brands by spending more on advertisements and promotions.

November-January loss from continuing operations was $31.3 million, or $1.26 a share, compared with a loss from continuing operations of $14.9 million, or 60 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, it earned 5 cents a share from continuing operations. Revenue rose more than 23 percent to $101 million.

The company approved a cash dividend of 3 cents a share and expects an annualized dividend of 12 cents a share.

Shares of Paramus, New Jersey-based Movado closed at $14.96 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)