Dollar General Reports March Results, Settles Accounting Probe

Dollar General reported total retail sales for the March five-week period ended April 1, 2005, equaled $756.2 million compared with $672.9 million last year, an increase of 12.4%. For the March period, same-store sales, or sales in stores that were open both at the end of the period and at the beginning of the preceding fiscal year, increased 4.2%. The 4.2% same-store sales increase for the period was driven by strong sales increases in food, including candy, snacks and perishables, as well as pet supplies. The arrival of Easter in March, versus April in 2004, also produced strong results in Easter products for the period. Customer transactions in same-stores increased approximately 0.1%. The average customer purchase in March for total stores was approximately $8.82 compared to $8.40 in the same period last year. For the nine-week period ended April 1, 2005, Dollar General total retail sales increased 13.0 percent to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion for the nine-week period ended April 2, 2004. Same-store sales for the nine-week period increased 4.8%. According to a Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.