Fred's (FRED) Reports 4.2% Increase in Comps for Sept.

Fred's (NASDAQ: FRED) reported sales for the five-week fiscal month of September and eight-month year-to-date period ended October 3, 2015.

Fred's total sales for the month increased 15% to $211.5 million from $183.5 million in September 2014. Excluding $6.2 million from last year's September sales related to 52 subsequently closed locations, total sales increased 19% for the month. Comparable store sales for the month rose 4.2% compared with an increase of 0.2% in the year-earlier period.

Fred's total sales for the year-to-date period increased 9% to $1.433 billion from $1.320 billion for the same period last year. Excluding sales of $51.3 million from stores closed mainly in late 2014, total sales increased 13% for the first eight months of 2015. On a comparable store basis, year-to-date sales increased 1.3% versus a decline of 0.5% for the year-earlier period.

Commenting on the announcement, Jerry A. Shore, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to report a solid sales performance for September, as both total and comparable sales exceeded our plan. This reflected strong growth in retail and specialty pharmacy, along with higher general merchandise sales as our merchandising and marketing programs produced balanced contributions across all major front-end categories. While the calendar shift for Labor Day aided September sales, we were pleased to sustain positive comparable store sales throughout the month. Also, at the end of the month, sales were negatively affected by the heavy rains that fell across Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

"Our team is excited as we head into the important holiday season," Shore added. "We have a sense of confidence about the opportunities ahead considering the way we continue to increase the coordination of initiatives for merchandising, marketing, supply chain and store operations. We believe the outlook for strong sales to continue is good, which in turn will lead to stronger financial performance in the future."

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