Dollar General cuts profit forecast despite strong quarter

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General reported record net income and sales during for the first quarter, but still reduced the top end of its profit forecast due to moderating same-store sales.



The discounter reported net income of $220 million, up 3% from $213 million in the first quarter of 2012. Net sales totaled $4.23 billion, up 8.5% from $3.9 billion.



Same-store sales increased 2.6%, with strong growth in consumables offsetting slower sales in seasonal and weather-sensitive products. Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar General, said continuing slow growth in non-consumable sales caused the company to scale back its profit forecasts.



“We are well positioned for our same-store sales growth to accelerate to 4-5% for the year as our key initiatives, such as the rollout of tobacco and Phase 5 planogram changes, continue to gain traction through the year,” said Dreiling. “Sales of non-consumables are expected to remain challenging, and we anticipate a continued shift to lower margin items within consumables and higher inventory shrink.”



For the 2013 fiscal year, Dollar General expects total sales to increase 10 to 11% from the 2012 fiscal year. Same-store sales are expected to increase 4 to 5%.