Cato Corp. Q2 Profit Increases - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - The Cato Corp. (CATO) reported second-quarter net income of $15.9 million or $0.57 per share, compared to $15.6 million or $0.56 per share, prior year. Sales were $236.7 million, a decrease of 5% from sales of $249.2 million, last year. Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 6%.

"Although same-store sales for the quarter were well below our expectations, our earnings per diluted share increased over last year primarily due to lower incentive compensation and favorable adjustments to the effective tax rate as a result of continuing tax initiatives," stated John Cato, CEO.

The company said its expectations for the third quarter remain unchanged from what was included in the original guidance for the full year and reflect same store sales in the range of down 2% to flat and earnings per share in the range of $0.13 to $0.18. After adjusting original 2016 guidance for second quarter actual results, the company now estimates earnings per share for the full year in a range of $2.32 to $2.41.

The company now expects to open 12 new stores during 2016, down from its last estimate of 23 stores due to a lack of shopping center development and increased competition for available space.