Cato April Same-store Sales Rise 18%; Ups Q1 EPS View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Cato Corp. (CATO) said its same-store sales increased 18% during April 2014. In addition, the firm reported four-week sales of $93.5 million, up 21% from $77.0 million reported a year before.

For the first quarter ended May 3, 2014, sales totaled $282.5 million, a 6% increase, compared with the prior-year figure of $267.2 million. Same-store sales for the quarter went up by 3%.

The shift of Easter from late March last year to mid-April this year favorably impacted April sales, whilst March sales were unfavorably impacted. Due to this shift, the best measure for performance is the combined sales for the two months, which grew 7% overall and were up 5% to the prior year on a same-store basis. According to the company, April sales and the combined sales for March and April were ahead of expectations.

Going ahead, first-quarter earnings per share guidance is raised to $1.03 - $1.05 range, from its previous outlook of $0.89 - $0.95.