Family Dollar Reports Upbeat FQ4 Earnings, Posts 6.1% Rise In Comparable Stores Sales

Family Dollar Stores Inc FDO posted better-than-expected earnings for the fiscal fourth-quarter. FDO's net profit increased 23% y/y to $74 million, or $0.56 per share, up from $60.1 million, or $0.43 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's sales rose 8% y/y to $1.96 billion. However, analysts expected the company to report earnings at $0.51 per share. The company's comparable stores sales rose 6.1%, driven by rise in customer traffic Howard R. Levine, FDO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “Our efforts to broaden the appeal of our assortment, improve the in-store shopping experience, enhance our customer communications, and strengthen our employee teams, resulted in strong improvements across most key metrics.” He added, “I am very proud of this performance, and I appreciate the hard work and dedication of all our 50,000 Family Dollar Team Members.” Family Dollar projects its FY11 earnings between $2.95 and $3.15 per share. However, analysts were expecting FY11 earnings at $2.96 per share. The company's board has approved the buyback of up to $750 million of stock. Mr. Levine said, “In fiscal 2010, we made a number of investments to increase the appeal of our stores. We expect that many of these investments, including expanding operating hours, enhancing our assortment, and creating better merchandise presentations through our space realignment efforts and the utilization of more efficient fixtures, will continue to deliver results in fiscal 2011.” He mentioned, “In fiscal 2011 we intend to build on the momentum we achieved in fiscal 2010 and continue to increase our focus on driving stronger revenue growth.” Mr. Levine added, “We intend to make additional investments that strengthen our value and convenience proposition. Key areas of focus include the acceleration of new store growth and the launch of an aggressive store renovation program. We plan to open approximately 300 new stores, a 50% increase over fiscal 2010 openings, and renovate 600-800 stores.” FDO's shares gained 0.48% to $43.55 in after-hours trading. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.