Cato Corp. 5-week Same-store Sales Up 6%; Raises Q4 EPS Guidance - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - The Cato Corp. (CATO) reported sales for the five weeks ended January 2, 2016 of $118.5 million, a 9% increase from sales of $109.2 million for the five weeks ended January 3, 2015. Same-store sales for the month increased 6%.

The Cato Corp. now expects that its fourth-quarter earnings per share will be within the range of $0.39 to $0.43, versus its original guidance of $0.35 to $0.39. The company's estimate for full year earnings per share is now in the range of $2.35 to $2.39 versus its most recent guidance of $2.31 to $2.35.

John Cato, Chairman, President, and CEO, said: "December same-store sales results were above our expectations and original guidance. Increased earnings per share are primarily due to higher sales and lower taxes; however, we still remain cautious for the remainder of the quarter due to unfavorable sales comparisons to last year."

Sales for the eleven months ended January 2, 2016 were $948.5 million, a 3% increase from sales of $923.0 million, prior year. The company's year-to-date same-store sales are flat to last year.