* Q2 profit $21 mln vs year-earlier loss $14.4 mln

* Net revenue up 11.9 pct to $1.09 billion

* Gross margin down 2 percentage points to 49 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Levi Strauss & Co reported a second-quarter profit, helped by higher sales to store chains and in Asia and Europe, allowing it to mitigate the damage to margins from higher cotton costs and discounting.

The private company said second-quarter net income was $21 million, compared with a loss of $14.4 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue, which includes sales and licensing revenue, rose 11.9 percent to $1.09 billion.

Sales grew 19 percent in Asia and 17 percent in Europe; in constant-currency terms, the increases were 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

In the Americas, sales were led by the company's namesake jeans, offsetting a drop in sales of Dockers. Revenue in the Americas was up 7 percent.

Gross margin was down 2 percentage points to 49 percent of revenue because of higher cotton costs and an increase in discounting.

Net debt stayed constant at $1.6 billion.

Levi's clients include department store chains such as Macy's Inc, J.C. Penney Co Inc and Kohl's Corp (Reporting by Phil Wahba; editing by John Wallace)