Company Updates Third Quarter Earnings Guidance
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported that net sales for the
third quarter ended May 30, 2009, increased 8.2% to approximately $1.84
billion compared with $1.70 billion for the third quarter ended May 31,
2008. Comparable store sales for the third quarter increased 6.2%. The
Company had 6,654 stores as of May 30, 2009, including 26 new stores
opened during the quarter.
”Our sales momentum continued through the third quarter, with comparable
store sales increasing more than 7% through the first twelve weeks of
the quarter. As expected, the last week of the reporting period was
adversely affected by a shift of the first-of-the month money flow and
our corresponding advertising into the June period,” said Howard R.
Levine, Chairman and CEO. “Sales of consumable merchandise continued to
be strong, increasing approximately 13% during the quarter. Notably,
sales trends in several discretionary categories improved from what we
saw in the second quarter.”
Outlook
The Company expects that earnings per diluted share for the third
quarter of fiscal 2009 will be at or above the upper end of its
previously provided guidance of $0.54 and $0.58. The Company plans to
report third quarter financial results on July 8, 2009, before the
market opens.
Cautionary Statements
Certain statements contained in this report are forward-looking
statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements address the Company’s plans, activities or events which the
Company expects will or may occur in the future. Various risks,
uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.
