Dollar General reported strong earnings in Q4 2024, with net sales rising by 4.5% to $10.3 billion while comparable sales inched up by 1.2% and net income fell by 52.4% to $191.2 million.
For the full fiscal 2024, the company saw its net sales grow by 5% to $40.6 billion, while comparable sales increased by 1.4% and net income went down by 32.3% to $1.1 billion.
In 2024, Dollar General opened 725 new stores, renovated 1,621 stores, and relocated 85 stores and plans to open 575 new stores in the US in the upcoming year.
Additionally, as part of its fleet optimization plan, the retail giant will close 96 Dollar General and Popshelf stores and convert six Popshelf stores to Dollar General stores by Q1 of 2025.
Todd Vasos, CEO of Dollar General, said in an earnings call: “While this is less than 1% of our overall store base, those stores, many of which are in urban locations, have become increasingly challenging to successfully operate.
“These stores likely would have been closed in the ordinary course of the store’s lifecycle when their leases expired; however, we determined that closing these locations now will allow us to optimize our allocation of resources going forward.”
However, the company does not expect the macroeconomic environment to improve, with inflationary pressures affecting most retailers.
Kelly Dilts, EVP and chief financial officer, added: “While our guidance is centered around a macro-neutral outlook, the full range does recognize that there is still uncertainty both in the broader macroenvironment as well as for our core customer.
“We are currently anticipating continued economic pressure on our core customer, though at a relatively consistent rate to what they were experiencing as we close 2024.”
Dollar General expects to achieve net sales growth of 3.4% to 4.4% and expects comparable sales to rise by 1.2% to 2.2% in the upcoming fiscal year 2025.
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