Fred's Slips To Loss In Q1 - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Fred's Inc. (FRED) reported that its net loss for the first quarter ended May 2, 2015 was $29 thousand or break even per share, compared to net income of $6.1 million or $0.17 per share for the year-earlier quarter ended May 3, 2014. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.01 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 increased to $509.0 million from $498.3 million for the first quarter last year. Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $509.06 million for the quarter.

Fred's sales for the prior-year quarter included sales of $21.8 million from stores closed mainly in late 2014 pursuant to the Company's reconfiguration plan. Excluding sales from closed locations in the prior year quarter, total sales increased 7% for the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

Comparable store sales for the quarter increased 0.8% compared with a decrease of 1.9% in the first quarter last year.

Total sales for the second quarter of 2015 are expected to increase in the range of 16% to 19%. Comparable store sales for the second quarter are expected to increase in the range of 1% to 3% compared with a decrease of 0.1% in the second quarter last year. Earnings per share for the second quarter are expected to be in the range $0.02 to $0.07. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.02 per share and revenues of $552.16 million for the second-quarter.