Full speed ahead for Tractor Supply in Q4

Tractor Supply Co., the nation’s largest farm-and-ranch retailer, reported big gains in sales and earnings for the fourth quarter and full year.



The company reported nets sales of $1.42 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $1.29 billion in the same quarter last year. Comparable-store sales increased 3.5%.



Net income for the quarter was $95.9 million, up from $79.5 million in the same quarter last year.



“We are very pleased with our strong fourth-quarter and full-year results,” said CEO Greg Sandfort. “The fourth quarter marked our 17th consecutive quarter of positive comparable-store sales and our 23rd consecutive quarter of positive comparable transaction counts. In recent years, we have grown our business effectively despite challenging economic environments and volatile weather trends. We believe our results are a function of the balanced approach we take to run our business, through managing sales, margins, expenses and capital investments.”



For the full year, net sales increased 10.7% to $5.16 billion, as comps increased 4.8%. Those results came during a fiscal year in which the company opened 102 new stores and closed two stores. It had opened 92 new stores in fiscal 2012.



Full-year net income surged 18.7% to $328.2 million.



Looking ahead, the company expects comp-store sales to increase in the range of 2.5% to 4% in fiscal 2014.