CHICAGO (Reuters) - Burger King Holdings <BKC.N> reported higher quarterly profit, helped by lower costs for food and paper, but sales suffered as consumers ate out less in order to save money.

The world's No. 2 hamburger chain after McDonald's Corp <MCD.N>, expects softer sales at existing restaurants in the first half, with improvement in the second half if consumer sentiment improves.

But the company declined to forecast earnings for the current fiscal year citing uncertain consumer spending.

Burger King has been sprucing up older eateries, introducing premium sandwiches, extending hours and adding value-menu items like the Cheesy Bacon BK Wrapper sandwich to catch up with rivals.

The seller of the Whopper Hamburger said on Tuesday that net income was $58.9 million, or 43 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended on June 30, compared with $50.6 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Derek Caney)