Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) saw its stock drop sharplyThursday on the release of third-quarter figures.
The discount store chain reported net sales increased 17.3%; Same-store sales increased 12.2% driven by an increase in average transaction amount, partially offset by a decline in customer traffic. Same-store sales increased in each of the consumables, seasonal, home products and apparel categories, with the largest percentage increase in the home products category. The Company believes consumer behavior driven by COVID-19 had a significant positive effect on net sales and same-store sales.
DG also reported operating Profit Increased 57.3% to $773.1 million. Diluted Earnings per Share (“EPS”) Increased 62.7% to $2.31
Year-to-Date Cash Flows from Operations Increased 103.7% to $3.4 billion
What’s more, $990 million were returned to shareholders through Share Repurchases and Cash Dividend
The company declared a Q4 Cash Dividend of $0.36 per share
CEO Todd Vasos said, "I want to thank our associates for their tireless work over the past several months in helping our customers and communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"To further demonstrate our appreciation and support, we plan to award a total of up to $75 million in appreciation bonuses to eligible frontline employees in Q4, which includes our recent announcement to double our initial plans for second-half bonuses by approximately $50 million, bringing the Company’s full-year investment in employee appreciation bonuses to approximately $173 million."
DG dipped $4.82, or 2.2%, to $212.72.
