Dollar General Corporation reported record sales, operating profit and net income for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter (13 weeks) and full year (52 weeks) ended January 31, 2014. Highlights: -Full Year Sales Increased 9.2%; Full Year Same-Store Sales Increased 3.3% -Fourth Quarter Sales Increased 6.8%; Fourth Quarter Same-Store Sales Increased 1.3% -Fiscal 2013 EPS of $3.17; Adjusted Fiscal 2013 EPS Increased 10% to $3.20 -Fourth Quarter EPS Increased to $1.01 -Company Provides 2014 Financial Guidance "I am pleased to report Dollar General's twenty-fourth consecutive year of same-store sales growth in 2013," said Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO. "Among our other many accomplishments for the year, we successfully opened 650 new stores, ending the year with 11,132 stores serving customers in 40 states. We made great progress in managing our investment in inventories in 2013, and importantly, we generated significant cash flow from operations and returned $620 million to shareholders through share repurchases.
"Sales in the fourth quarter were impacted by severe winter weather, including many days with significant store closures, an aggressive competitive retail landscape and our customers' uncertainty about spending in the current economic environment. In spite of these headwinds, both customer traffic and average ticket increased in our same-stores in the fourth quarter. In addition, we controlled our expenses well and successfully managed the business to deliver a gross margin rate that was better than we anticipated. Although some of the severe weather impact has continued into the first quarter, we are pleased with our sales performance on days when weather is more normalized."
"Dollar General is a strong and growing business with high return store growth opportunities that we intend to capture," Mr. Dreiling continued. "While we remain cautious on the current operating environment and the many challenges our customer is facing in 2014, we have a business model that generates significant cash flow, putting us in a position to invest in these growth opportunities, while continuing to return cash to shareholders through share repurchases." Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2013 Highlights The Company's net income for the 2013 fourth quarter was $322 million, or diluted earnings per share ("EPS") of $1.01, compared to net income of $317 million, or diluted EPS of $0.97, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Net sales increased 6.8 percent to $4.49 billion in the 2013 fourth quarter compared to $4.21 billion in the 2012 fourth quarter. Same-store sales increased 1.3 percent, resulting from increases in both customer traffic and average transaction amount. Same-store sales increases were driven by sales of tobacco products and perishables.
