The company said that same-store sales rose 1.5% in the first quarter, driven by increased sales of consumable items like tobacco and perishables, increased store traffic and higher average transaction amounts. Total sales rose 6.8% year-over-year.
In its outlook statement, Dollar General reiterated its guidance for full-year 2014 sales to rise 8% to 9% above the 2013 total and same-store sales are forecast for a rise 3% to 4%. Diluted EPS is forecast at $3.45 to $3.55. The company repurchased $800 million worth of its common stock in the first quarter and has authorization to buy back an additional $223 million in stock.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Dollar General forecast first-quarter same-store sales growth of 2% to 3% and total sales growth of 7% to 8%, compared with the same period a year ago. EPS was forecast at $0.72 to $0.74 for the quarter. The company did not hit any of these targets and has provided no guidance on its second-quarter results. The consensus analysts’ estimates call for second-quarter EPS of $0.82 on revenues of $4.76 billion.
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Dollar General expects to open 214 new stores in the first quarter and capex spending continues to be estimated in a range of $450 million to $500 million. The company also reiterated its plans to open 700 new stores in the 2014 fiscal year and to remodel or relocate another 500. Dollar General opened 650 new stores in 2013 and remodeled or relocated 582 stores.
The company’s CEO said:
Dollar General’s first quarter same-store sales improvement of 1.5 percent was driven by growth in our consumables business and, overall, reflected the challenges of unfavorable winter weather, heightened competition and the current economic environment. Even as these factors weighed on our sales results, we saw trends improve as we moved through the quarter … Sales trends began to improve in April and have continued to gain momentum. We are pleased to see that our merchandising strategies are gaining traction with a strengthening of sales in both consumables and non-consumables in our second quarter to date.
Shares were down about 1.1% in premarket trading Tuesday, at $53.70, in a 52-week range of $48.61 to $62.93. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $64.30 before the results were announced.
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