Ross Stores, Inc. reported that sales increased 8% to $682 million for the five weeks ended April 4, 2009, up from $633 million for the five weeks ended April 5, 2008. Comparable store sales for the month grew 3% from the prior year.
Michael Balmuth, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are very pleased with our solid sales gains in March, which were well ahead of our projections. We believe our business continues to benefit from our ability to deliver compelling bargains to today's increasingly value-focused consumers. Better-than-expected weather also contributed to our strong performance during the month. Dresses and Shoes were the best performing merchandise categories while the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast were the strongest regions.”
Mr. Balmuth continued, “Looking ahead, we are now forecasting a 3% to 5% increase in April same store sales, which takes into consideration our recent sales results along with the projected impact from the Easter calendar shift. Assuming that April sales perform in line with this updated forecast, and with favorable gross margin and expense trends for the first two months of the quarter, we now project that earnings per share for the 13 weeks ending May 2, 2009 will be $.68 to $.70. This updated range compares to our prior forecast of $.56 to $.61, and would represent an estimated 13% to 17% increase over the $.60 in earnings per share for the quarter ended May 3, 2008.”
