Five Below Says Holiday Sales Rose 4.1%, Boosts Outlook

   By Chelsey Dulaney 
 

Five Below Inc. said its core sales rose 4.1% during the crucial holiday shopping season, prompting the company to boost its guidance for the fourth quarter.

The discount retailer said its total sales, which include newly opened stores, jumped 24% to $286.1 million for the nine weeks ended Jan. 2.

For its fourth quarter, Five Below is now expecting sales of $323 million to $326 million, compared with its December guidance of $318 million to $323 million in revenue. It edged up the bottom end of its per-share earnings guidance by a penny, to a range of 75 cents to 76 cents a share.

Five Below joins a number of companies in reporting core sales growth for the holiday period, easing some investor concerns about the year's most important selling period despite weak results from big names like Macy's Inc. and Gap Inc.

Retailers faced several obstacles going into the season. Customer traffic fell at many stores and malls, as more sales moved online. Also, shoppers continued to search for discounts, forcing retailers to offer promotions and potentially face lower profits.

The full picture of the holiday season remains uncertain, however, as many large retailers--such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.--haven't broken out their holiday sales.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 07, 2016 17:25 ET (22:25 GMT)

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