Tuesday Morning expects small increase in 1Q sales

DALLAS -- First-quarter revenue at discount retailer Tuesday Morning rose slightly to $172.8 million, from $170.7 million, in the same quarter last year.

The Dallas company said Tuesday that revenue at stores open at least a year rose 1.7 percent, as a 4.7 percent increase in the average amount spent by each customer offset a 3 percent drop in the number of customers that visited its stores.

The metric is a key measure of a retailer's health, because it excludes sales at stores that recently opened or closed.

Excluding one-time items, Tuesday Morning Corp. it expects its net loss for the quarter to "increase modestly" from the same quarter last year.

The company plans to release its full fiscal first-quarter results on Oct. 22. Shares rose 6 cents to $6.28 in premarket trading.