Cato Corp. same-store sales rise 4 percent

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Cato Corp. said Thursday that same-store sales rose 4 percent in October, beating analysts' expectations as the women's apparel retailer benefited from cool weather.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected the retailer's same-store sales to fall by 2 percent.

Year-to-date, same-store sales declined 1 percent. Same-store sales for the third quarter ended Nov. 1 were down 2 percent.

"Comparable store sales for the quarter were at the lower end of our expectations and business remains very difficult," Chief Executive John Cato said in a statement.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are an important gauge of retail health because it measures growth at existing outlets rather than from expansion.

Cato, which is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings on Nov. 20, said it expects to "slightly" exceed its earlier projection that it would post somewhere between a 5-cent-per-share loss and a break-even quarter.

The company is expected to post a loss of 2 cents per share, according to the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.