Dollar General (NYSE:DG) came out of the starting blocks strongly Thursday, after its quarterly same-store sales missed Wall Street’s estimates. Same-store sales rose 5.7% in the fourth quarter, versus the 6% expected by analysts.
Fourth Quarter Operating Profit Increased 17.1% to $933.2 Million; Fiscal Year Operating Profit Increased 3.3% to $3.3 Billion Fourth Quarter Diluted EPS Increased 15.2%; Fiscal Year Diluted EPS Increased 5.0%
According to CEO Jeff Owen, “Our fourth-quarter sales results were strong, although below our expectations, and we are pleased with continued market share gains in both consumables and non-consumables, as well as continued growth with new and existing customers, We want to thank our more than 170,000 associates for their commitment to serving our customers, communities, and each other in this challenging economic and operating environment.”
Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 31.2% in fiscal year 2022, compared to 31.6% in fiscal year 2021, a decrease of 37 basis points. The gross profit rate decrease in 2022 was primarily attributable to an increased LIFO provision, which was driven higher by product costs; a greater proportion of sales coming from the consumables category, which generally has a lower gross profit rate than other product categories; and increases in inventory markdowns, damages and shrink; partially offset by higher inventory markups and an improvement in transportation costs.
DG shares improved 68 cents to $219.24.