Family Dollar Stores misses 3Q net income expectations, tops revenue forecasts

Family Dollar Stores Inc. on Wednesday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $79.9 million.

On a per-share basis, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said it had profit of 70 cents for the quarter ended May 30. Earnings, adjusted for costs related to mergers and acquisitions, came to 74 cents per share.

The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 82 cents per share.

The discount retailer posted revenue of $2.73 billion in the period, exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.72 billion.

A year ago Family Dollar Stores earned $81.1 million, or 71 cents per share, on sales of $2.66 billion.

Sales in stores open at least a year, a key metric of a retailer's health, rose 0.7 percent during the quarter.

The company said its acquisition by Dollar Tree Inc. remains on track to close in July.

Family Dollar shares have decreased slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed nearly 1 percent. Shares closed Wednesday at $79.18, an increase of 16 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FDO at http://www.zacks.com/ap/FDO

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Keywords: Family Dollar Stores, Earnings Report