UPDATE: Dollar General Q3 Earnings Miss Street View

Dollar General

reported downbeat earnings for the third quarter. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company posted quarterly net income of $236.3 million, or $0.78 per share, versus $237.4 million, or $0.74 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.79 per share. Its sales gained 7.8% to $4.72 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.80 per share on revenue of $4.75 billion. Its same-store sales gained 2.8% in the quarter. Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, declined 18 basis points to 30.1%. As of October 31, 2014, total merchandise inventories, at cost, were $2.79 billion, versus $2.59 billion as of November 1, 2013. During the 2014 39-week period, Dollar General opened 617 new stores and remodeled or relocated 874 stores. Dollar General now projects FY14 earnings in the middle of its earlier guidance range of $3.45 to $3.55 per share. The company now expects sales to rise 8%, at the low end of its earlier forecast of 8% to 9%. Dollar General announced its plans to open 730 new stores in fiscal 2015. Rick Dreiling, Dollar General's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “We continued to grow our market share in consumables, and we are very pleased with the performance of our home and apparel categories. Importantly, we are seeing a significant step up as we start the holiday season, and we expect to achieve same-store sales growth of approximately 5 percent for the fourth quarter.” The executive added, “Finally, we remain committed to acquiring Family Dollar. We expect to provide an update on our offer in time for Family Dollar shareholders to review such information prior to the Family Dollar shareholders' meeting scheduled for December 23, 2014.” Dollar General shares slipped 0.86% to close at $66.69 yesterday.