MATTHEWS, N.C.–Family Dollar posted a 13 percent increase in its fourth-quarter net income, which totaled $60.1 million.
The retail chain accomplished this on a gain of 2.6 percent in net sales to $1.8 billion, which included a same-store sales rise of 1 percent. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 6.9 percent while cost of goods sold was essentially flat for the quarter.
Calling the fourth quarter “our most challenging quarter this year,” Howard Levine, Family Dollar’s chairman and chief executive officer, said the company’s plan to remerchandise the sales floor for about half the chain pushed up SG&A expenses. “I believe that these investments support our continued efforts to expand our assortment of key traffic-driving consumables and improve the in-store shopping experience,” Levine said in a statement.
For fiscal year 2009 as a whole, Family Dollar recorded a 25 percent hike in net income to $291.3 million, and a 6 percent rise in net sales to $7.4 billion. Same-store sales for the fiscal year increased 4 percent.