Cato December sales up 6 percent

The Cato Corporation reported sales for the five weeks ended January 3, 2015 of 109.2 million dollars, a 9 percent increase from sales of 100.1 million dollars for the five weeks ended January 4, 2014. Same-store sales for the month increased 6 percent.

Sales for the eleven months ended January 3, 2015 were 923 million dollars, a 7 percent increase from sales of 862.7 million dollars for the same period, last year. The company's year-to-date same-store sales increased 4 percent.

“December same-store sales results were positively impacted by the weather and were above expectations,” stated John Cato, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, adding, “We now expect that fourth quarter earnings per diluted share will be within the range of 0.25 dollars to 0.29 dollars, versus our original guidance of 0.13 dollars to 0.17 dollars and 0.13 dollars last year. Increased earnings per diluted share are primarily due to higher sales and lower taxes. The company's estimate for full year earnings per diluted share is now in the range of 2.07 dollars to 2.11 dollars versus our most recent guidance of 1.95 dollars to 1.99 dollars and 1.86 dollars last year.”

The company closed three stores during December. As of January 3, 2015, it operated 1,345 stores in 32 states, compared to 1,316 stores in 32 states as of January 4, 2014.