Cato October sales increase 4 percent

Sales for the four weeks ended October 31, 2015 at Cato Corporation were 73.2 million dollars, a 4 percent increase over sales of 70.5 million dollars for the four week period ended November 1, 2014. Same-store sales for the month increased 1 percent.

“October same-store sales were above our guidance. With recent positive trends and a favorable tax adjustment of 0.06 dollar per share, we now estimate that third quarter earnings per diluted share will be in the range of 0.24 dollar to 0.28 dollar versus 0.20 dollars last year and up from our previous guidance of 0.18 dollar to 0.22 dollar,” commented John Cato, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

Sales for the third quarter ended October 31, 2015 were 223.3 million dollars, a 4 percent increase over sales of 213.8 million dollars for the third quarter ended November 1, 2014. Same-store sales for the quarter increased 2 percent. Sales for the thirty-nine weeks ended October 31, 2015 were 754.1 million dollars, an increase of 2 percent from sales of 740 million dollars for the thirty-nine weeks ended November 1, 2014. The company's year-to-date same-store sales decreased 1 percent.

The company will release third quarter financial results on Thursday, November 19, 2015. During the month of October, it opened new stores in Farmington, MO, Lake Havasu City, AZand Cranberry Township, PA. Year-to-date, the company has opened 28 new stores, relocated eight stores, and closed four stores. As of October 31, 2015, Cato operated 1,370 stores in 32 states, compared to 1,343 stores in 32 states as of November 1, 2014.