Cato April same-store sales up 18 percent

REPORT_ The Cato Corporation reported sales of 93.5 million dollars for the four weeks ended May 3,

2014, a 21 percent increase from sales of 77 million dollars for the four weeks ended May 4, 2013. Same-store sales increased 18 percent for the month.

Sales for the first quarter ended May 3, 2014 were 282.5 million dollars, a 6 percent increase from sales of 267.2 million dollars for the first quarter ended May 4, 2013. Same-store sales for the first quarter increased 3 percent. The shift of Easter from late March last year to mid-April this year favorably impacted April sales, while March sales were unfavorably impacted. Because of this shift, the best measure for performance is the combined sales for the two months, which increased 7 percent overall and were up 5 percent to the prior year on a same-store basis.

“April sales and the combined sales for March and April were above expectations," stated John Cato, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, adding, “We now expect first quarter earnings per diluted share will be in the range of 1.03 dollars to 1.05 dollars versus 1.05 dollars last year and up from our previous guidance of 0.89 dollars to 0.95 dollars.

During the month of April, the Charlotte, N.C.-based company opened four stores and closed two stores. New stores opened in Slidell, LA, Easton, MD, Bay City, MI and Mitchell, SD. As of May 3, 2014, the company operated 1,324 stores in 32 states, compared to 1,307 stores in 31 states as of May 4, 2013.