In a December 2nd release, Dollar General Corporation (DG) posted financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2022 ending October 29th 2020. This chain can be regarded as a bellwether for the dollar-store format catering to low-income demographics in inner city and rural areas.

For the period, net revenue was $487.0 million on total revenue of $8,517 million.  Comparable figures for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 ending October 30th 2019 were net income of $574.3 million on total revenue of $8,200 million.  EPS declined from $2.51 for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 to $2.09 for the most recent quarter. Higher cost of goods sold and operating expenses contributed to the difference.

The company recorded a comparable same-store sales decline of 0.6 percent compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2020 but an increase of 11.6 percent on a 2-year stack basis. Sales gained 3.9 percent for the most recent quarter.

In commenting on results, Todd Vasos CEO stated, “We are pleased with our third quarter results, and I want to thank our associates for their unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of our customers, communities, and each other,” He added “During the quarter, we made meaningful progress advancing our key initiatives, while continuing to successfully deliver for our customers, despite a challenging operating environment”.

In reviewing future strategy Vasos noted, “We are excited today to announce our real estate growth plans for fiscal year 2022, which consist of nearly 3,000 real estate projects in total, including 1,110 new stores. These plans include the acceleration of our pOpshelf store concept, as we expect to nearly triple our store count next year. Importantly, given the sustained and positive performance of our pOpshelf concept, we plan to further accelerate the pace of new store openings as we move ahead, targeting a total of approximately 1,000 pOpshelf locations by fiscal year end 2025.

“We are also excited to announce our plans to expand our footprint internationally for the first time, with plans to open up to ten stores in Mexico by the end of fiscal 2022, as we continue to lay the foundation for future growth.

Dollar General posted assets of $25,925 million against long-term debt and lease obligations of $12,935 million and the Company has an intraday market capitalization of $50,954 million. DG trades with a forward P/E of 20.4 and has ranged over a 52-week period from $173.50 to $239.35 with a 50-day moving average of $218.57.  Twelve-month trailing operating margin was 10.1 percent and profit margin 7.5 percent.  Return on assets over the past twelve months was 8.3 percent and the return on equity 37.5 percent. At 12H30 December 2nd post-release, DG traded at at $216.30 down 2.9 percent.