WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Retail farm and ranch stores operator Tractor Supply Co (TSCO), Wednesday provided weak earnings outlook for the second quarter as sales of some seasonal products slackened amid harsh winter weather. The company has also projected full-year earnings to be lower than estimated.
Shares of the company slipped about 2 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.
Brentwood, Tennessee-based Tractor Supply expects second-quarter earnings of $0.94 per share to $0.95 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently expect earnings of $1.02 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company said its sales for the second quarter increased 8.8 percent to $1.58 billion from $1.46 billion in the prior year. Analysts anticipated revenues of $1.60 billion for the quarter.
Comparable store sales for the second quarter climbed 1.9 percent, modest when seen against the 7.2 percent growth a year ago. Strength in consumable, usable and edible products was partly offset by weak sales of certain seasonal products, softness in safe category and deflation, the company said.
Tractor Supply said challenging spring weather conditions persisted into the second quarter, even as it managed inventory and intensified marketing activities.
The company expects gross margin rate for the second quarter to be flat with the prior year.
For the full year, Tractor Supply expects results to be at the lower end of previous guidance in April, when it forecast earnings of $2.54 to $2.62 per share, sales of $5.62 billion to $5.70 billion and comparable store sales of 2.5 percent to 4.0 percent.
Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.62 per share on sales of $5.67 billion for the year.
'Despite a solid sales trend in July to date, we cannot be assured at this point that spring seasonal sales will be fully realized,' the company said.
TSCO closed Wednesday at $61.38, up $0.59 or 0.97%, on a volume of 669k shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock dropped $1.28 or 2.09%.
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