Iconix Brand Group Inc. said first-quarter earnings rose 58%. The company also raised its outlook and announced it would acquire licensing rights to Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the “Peanuts” gang for $175 million in cash from E.W. Scripps Co.

The company will form a new subsidiary with the heirs of the late “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, who will pay 20% of the cost and receive that percentage ownership.

In the quarter ended March 31, Iconix earned $24.8 million, or 33 cents a share, up from earnings of $15.6 million, or 26 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 42%  to $71.7 million from $50.5 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 31 cents per share on revenue of $62.5 million.

Iconix, whose brands include Candie’s, Badgley Mischka, Rocawear, Starter, Joe Boxer and Mudd, increased its full-year 2010 revenue guidance to $305 million to $315 million, up from $260 million to $270 million.