Cato March Same-store Sales Up 12%; Backs Q1 EPS View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Cato Corp. (CATO) reported sales for the five weeks ended April 4, 2015 of $117.0 million, a 15% increase from sales of $102.0 million for the five week period ended April 5, 2014. Same-store sales for the month increased 12%.

Sales for the nine weeks ended April 4, 2015 were $197.5 million, a 5% increase from sales of $188.9 million for the nine weeks ended April 5, 2014. The Company's year-to-date same-store sales were up 2% to the prior year.

March sales were favorably impacted by the shift of Easter from mid-April last year to early April this year. It expects April sales will be unfavorably impacted. Because of this shift, the best measure for performance is the combined sales for the two months.

The company continues to expect first quarter earnings per share will be in the range of $1.00 to $1.03.