Dollar General Q3 Adj. EPS Misses Street; Revises FY Targets - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Discount retailer Dollar General Corp. (DG) reported earning net income of $236.32 million, or $0.78 per share in the 2014 third quarter, compared with last year's $237.39 million, or $0.74 per share. On an adjusted basis, quarterly net income amounted to $239 million, or $0.79 per share for the recent quarter. On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.80 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

For the quarter, net sales increased 7.8 percent year-over-year to $4.72 billion from $4.38 billion, with same-store sales up 2.8 percent, representing Dollar General's 27th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in both customer traffic and average transaction amount in its same-stores. Analysts estimated quarterly revenues of $4.76 billion.

For fiscal 2014, the company now sees total sales growth of nearly 8.0 percent over the 2013 fiscal year, which is at the low end of its prior guidance range of 8.0 to 9.0 percent. Same-store sales are now expected to increase at or slightly below the previous guidance range of 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent, with expected same-store sales growth of around 5.0 percent in the 2014 fourth quarter. Annual adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the middle of the firm's earlier guidance range of $3.45 to $3.55. Analysts project full-year earnings of $3.50 per share.

Additionally, the firm plans to open around 730 new stores in fiscal 2015, including its first stores in Maine, Rhode Island and Oregon. Further, the company plans to relocate or remodel nearly 875 stores with a priority on life cycle remodels. In total, square footage growth is expected to be approximately 6 percent. Site work has begun on a new distribution center in San Antonio, Texas, with shipping expected to begin in late fiscal 2015.