Family Dollar sees 40% 4Q earnings boost

Matthews, N.C. With the economy in a bind, Family Dollar Stores saw fourth-quarter net income increase 40.7% to $53.2 million. Net sales came in at $1.77 billion, an 8.2% increase over the like period last year. Comparable-store sales increased 5.6%.

"As expected, fourth-quarter sales benefited from the effect of the government stimulus checks distributed this summer," stated chairman and ceo Howard Levine. "Strong sales of consumables and effective management of inventory risk, combined with disciplined expense control, resulted in robust earnings growth."

Sales for fiscal 2008 were $6.98 billion, a 2.2% increase over fiscal 2007. Comparable-store sales increased 1.2%. The company opened 205 new stores and closed 64 stores in fiscal year 2008.

"While we are not immune to the current economic conditions, our strategy of providing customers with value and convenience positions us well within today's environment," said Levine. "We remain excited about the long-term opportunity of our niche and will continue to invest in building merchandising capabilities and operating efficiencies to drive increased shareholder value."