Fred's Slips To Loss In Q2; Guides Q3 - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Fred's Inc. (FRED) reported that its net loss for the second quarter was $16.4 million or $0.45 per share, compared to net income of $3.3 million or $0.09 per share in the comparable quarter last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.17 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Quarterly net sales for the latest second quarter were $491.19 million, up 1.9% from $482.18 million in the year-ago period. Wall Street expected revenues of $488.07 million. Comparable store sales for the quarter declined 0.1% versus an increase of 2.2% for the second quarter last year.

For the third quarter of 2014, the company expects loss per share on an operating basis to be in the range of $0.05 to $0.11.Total sales are expected to increase in the range of 3% to 5%. Comparable store sales are expected to be in the range of 1% to 3%. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.15 per share and revenues of $470.65 million for the third-quarter.

The company now expects earnings per share on an operating basis, excluding special charges, to be approximately zero for 2014. Analysts project annual earnings per share of $0.25.

For fiscal 2015, the company expects earnings in the range of $0.72 to $0.82 per share. Analysts currently expects earnings of $0.67 per share for fiscal 2015.