Family Dollar Stores Q2 sales up 17.7%, but CEO expresses discretionary income concerns

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar Stores on Thursday reported a net sales increase of 17.7% to $2.9 billion for the second quarter ended March 2. Comparable stores were up 2.9%.

An extra week in the quarter contributed approximately $189 million in sales. Strong growth in tobacco, food and HBA contributed to a 26.6% lift across consumables, the dollar operator reported. 

“Our continued market share gains reflect the successful execution of our strategy to become more relevant to customers,” stated Howard Levine, chairman and CEO. “This quarter we delivered positive results despite financial pressures that continue to challenge our customers," he said. 

Levine expressed concern around the discretionary dollars of the shoppers patronizing Family dollar. And the weak economy and a cold spring is still proving a challenge, Levine added. "Unfortunately, the unanticipated delay of the 2012 tax refunds impacted our results at the end of January and the beginning of February. We were happy to see sales trends improve towards the end of the quarter as our customers began to receive their tax refunds," he said. 

“Given this uncertainty, we have adjusted our plans to reflect lower than anticipated home and apparel sales as our customers’ discretionary spend is expected to remain constrained," Levine concluded.

Family Dollar shares were down 1.1% to $59.78 in late afternoon trading.