Boston, MA 05/23/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR), the discount retailer, reported its first quarter results ended May 3, 2014 with net sales of $2 billion with earnings of $0.67 per share.
Growth In Comparable Store Sales
In the first quarter (1Q2014), the comparable store sales increased by 2% despite a challenging currency impact over Canada due to increasing traffic and sales over discretionary business compared to consumables.
As a result, the retailer’s consolidated net sales were $2 billion, increase by 7.2% compared to $1.9 billion in the same period 2013 (1Q2013). Subsequently, the earnings per diluted share (EPS) during the period increased by 13.6% to $0.67 compared to $0.59 in 1Q2013.
The Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) generated higher operating cash inflows of $198.2 million versus $129.3 million in 1Q2013 due to the growing earnings and lower change in working capital. It also used lower cash of $72 million in capital expenditures and $13 million for debt repayments. The Company received 1.9 million shares in the first quarter 2014 under the $1 billion share purchase program.
Capital For Expansion
As of the first quarter, the retailer opened 94 stores including the expansion or relocation of 28 stores and closed non-performing (6) stores that increased the total retail space by 6.8% to 44.0 million square feet.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) continues to expand its retail outlets based on the growing demand across its area of distribution. So, it requires capital to open new stores and expand its distribution network. As of May 3, 2014, Dollar Tree has net cash balances of $387.1 million and total borrowings of $757 million to support its expansion plan.
2014 Guidance
Considering the positive trend over comparable store sales, the Company expects net sales of $1.97-$2.02 billion with diluted EPS of $0.58 to $0.64 in 2Q2014. The trend will continue throughout the fiscal 2014 and expects to generate net sales of $8.37-$8.54 billion and anticipates growth in diluted EPS at a range of $2.94 to $3.12 in FY2014.
