Ross Stores walking strong in July sales and Q2

PLEASANTON, Calif. Ross Stores reported that sales for the four weeks ended Aug. 1, 2009 increased 8% to $538 million from $499 million for the four weeks ended Aug. 2, 2008. Same-store sales for the month rose 4% on top of a 4% gain in the prior year.

For the 13 weeks ended Aug. 1, 2009, sales were $1.769 billion, an 8% increase over the $1.640 billion in sales reported for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 2, 2008. Comparable-store sales for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 1 grew 3% on top of a strong 6% increase last year.

For the six months ended Aug. 1, sales totaled $3.460 billion, up 8% over the $3.197 billion in sales for the six months ended Aug. 2, 2008. Comparable-store sales for the six months ended August 1, 2009 increased 3% on top of a 5% gain in the prior year period.

Michael Balmuth, vice chairman, president and CEO, commented, "The quarter is benefiting from much lower freight costs as a percent of sales compared to the prior year. As a result, we now estimate that earnings per share for the three months ended Aug. 1 will increase a robust 50% to 52% to 81 cents to 82 cents, up from 54 cents last year."