Fred's Oct. Comps. Down 3.4%; Suspends H2 Guidance - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Fred's Inc. (FRED) reported total sales for the month of October decreased 4.2% to $157.3 million from $164.2 million in October 2015. Comparable store sales for the month declined 3.4%. Total sales for the third quarter were $516.7 million, down 4.5% from $541.0 million in the same period last year. Comparable store sales for the quarter declined 3.8%.

Michael Bloom, CEO, said, " In the front store, we encountered unexpected challenges in our transition to a third-party distributor for several key categories. October sales also were affected by the calendar shift for Halloween. Significant reductions in SNAP payments and warmer-than-expected weather during the month also contributed to October's sales decline. Retail pharmacy sales continued to be pressured by the ongoing shift to 90-day prescriptions, as expected, but our specialty pharmacy sales, while still running below last year's level due to an industry-wide slowdown in Hepatitis C drugs, gained further ground in October with month-over-month growth."

Due in part to current revenue trends and the evolving nature of the company's business, including the optimization of its store fleet and other initiatives, Fred's suspended its previously issued guidance for the second half of 2016.