Nov 19 (Reuters) - Promotions and tighter cost controls helped Children's Place Retail Stores Inc (PLCE.O) beat market estimates by a penny, even as the company brought in more merchandise to prepare for the holiday selling season.

Earlier this month, Children's Place had topped October comparable sales estimates, and also reported sales of $463.2 million, a 3 percent increase over last year.

For the third quarter, Children's Place -- which rivals Gymboree Corp (GYMB.O) and Gap Inc's (GPS.N) Baby Gap line among others -- earned $37.8 million, or $1.37 share, compared with $24.1 million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Income from continuing operations was $1.38 a share. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $1.37 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

At the end of the quarter, inventory per square foot increased 3 percent at the Secaucus, New Jersey-based company's stores, while selling, general and administrative costs fell 6 percent to $118.6 million.

Children's Place shares closed at $34.87 Wednesday 18 November on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Pradeep Kurup)